Peace Education: Training for an Evolved Consciousness of Non-violence

Abstract

Peace Education: Training for an Evolved Consciousness of Non-violence

Abstract

This paper aims to present a preliminary, brain-based model of peace education. In addition to subjects that current peace education models emphasize such as human rights education, environmental education and conflict resolution education, this model aims to introduce another level, namely the cellular level, at which neurobiological causes of violence and its early prevention can be addressed. Specifically, the model advocates dissemination of information on neurobiological causes and prevention of violence, and the impact of early trauma on the developing brain during the pre-natal, birth, and postnatal periods. These early periods are when a foundation of love chemicals or chemicals of violence is established and the fundamental brain architecture is laid down. In other words, through the education of children, adolescents, and adults, the model opens up a cellular dimension where violence can be prevented. 

Keywords

• Peace education,birth trauma,non-violence,brain enrichment,empowerment

References

1. Bartels, Andreas, and Semir Zeki. “The Neural Basis of Romantic Love.” NeuroReport 11, no.17 (2000): 3829-834.
2. ––– . “The Neural Correlates of Maternal and Romantic Love.” NeuroImage 21 (2003): 1155-166.
3. Bozarth, Michael, A. “Pleasure Systems in the Brain.” In Pleasure: The Politics and the Reality, edited by David M. Warburton, 5-14. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994.
4. Bremner, J. Douglas, Penny Randall, Eric Vermetten, Lawrence Staib, Richard A. Bronen, Carolyn Mazure, Sandi Capelli, Gregory McCarthy, Robert B. Innis, and Dennis S. Charney. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based Measurement of Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder related to Childhood Physical and Sexual Abuse-A Preliminary Report.” Biological Psychiatry 41 (January 1997): 23-32.
5. Fountain, Susan. “Peace Education in UNICEF.” Working paper, UNICEF, June 1999.
6. Gross, Cornelius, Xiaoxi Zhuang, Kimberley Stark, Sylvie Ramboz, Ronald Oosting, Lynn Kirby, Luca Santarelli, Sheryl Beck, and René Hen. “Serotonin 1A Receptor Acts During Development to Establish Normal Anxiety- like Behavior in the Adult.” Nature 416 (2002): 396-400.
7. Harris, Ian M., and Mary Lee Morrison. Peace Education. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2003.
8. Janov, Arthur. The Biology of Love. New York: Prometheus Books, 2000.

9. ––– . Imprints: The Lifelong Effects of the Birth Experience. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1983.
10. ––– . The New Primal Scream. London: Abacus, 2003.
11. ––– . Primal Healing. Franklin Lakes, N: J.: New Page Books, 2007.
12. Keverne, E. Barry. “Genomic Imprinting, Maternal Care, and Brain Evolution.” Hormones and Behavior 40 (2001): 146-55.
13. van der Kolk, Bessel A. “The Body Keeps the Scrore: Memory and the Evolving Psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress.” Harvard Review of Psychology 1, no. 5 (1994): 253-65.
14. Kotulak, Ronald. Inside the Brain: Revolutionary Discoveries of How the Mind Works. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1996.
15. LeDoux, Joseph. The Emotional Brain. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
16. Lipton, Bruce. The Biology of Belief. Santa Rosa: Mountain of Love/Elite Books, 2005.
17. Pezze, Marie A., and Joram Feldon. “Mesolimbic Dopaminergic Pathways in Fear Conditioning.” Progress in Neurobiology 74 (December 2004): 301-20.
18. Reardon, Betty. Educating for Human Dignity: Learning about Rights and Responsibilities. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995.
19. Sandy, Sandra V. “The Development of Conflict Resolution Skills.” In The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice, edited by Morton Deutsch, Peter T. Coleman, Eric C. Marcus, 356-388. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, A Wiley Imprint, 2006.
20. Seo, Dongju, Christopher J. Patrick, and Patrick J. Kennealy. “Role of Serotonin and Dopamine System Interactions in the Neurobiology of Impulsive Aggression and its Comorbidity with other Clinical Disorders.” Aggressive Violent Behaviour 13 (2008): 383-95.
21. Teicher, Martin H. “Scars That Won’t Heal: The Neurobiology of Child Abuse.” Scientific American (March 2002): 68-75.
22. Thiel, Christiane M., and Rainer K. W. Schwarting. “Dopaminergic Lateralization in the Forebrain: Relations to Behavior Asymmetries and Anxiety in Male Wistar Rats.” Neuropsychobiology 43 (2001): 192-99.
23. Uvnas-Moberg, Kerstin. “Oxytocin May Mediate the Benefits of Positive Social Interaction and Emotions.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, no. 8 (1998): 819-35.