David Adams (peace activist)
David Adams (born 1939) is an American
Adams is currently the Coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network and author of several books on this subject.
Biography
David Adams went to Columbia University from 1957 to 1962 where he studied literature and wrote novels (Master of the House and Peace) and poetry ("Page Poems"). He obtained his doctorate in psychology at Yale University 1962–1968 with a dissertation later published in Science Magazine as "Cells Related to Fighting Behavior Recorded from Midbrain Central Gray Neuropil of Cat".[1] Then, as Assistant, Associate and Full Professor at Wesleyan University, Adams continued working on the brain mechanisms of aggression, and initiated studies which would underlie the concept of the Culture of Peace.
As an activist against the war in Vietnam, Adams was an editor of the newspaper Modern Times (1970–1976).[2] Later. as an activist in the Nuclear Freeze movement, he was one of the organizers of the Peoples Peace Appeal (1986–1987) which obtained hundreds of thousands of signatures in the United States and millions in the Soviet Union in an effort to end the Cold War.[3]
Concerned about mass media claims of a biological basis for war,[4] he worked with the International Society for Research on Aggression[5] to initiate a process leading to the Seville Statement on Violence which showed scientifically that war is not biologically determined and, to quote Margaret Mead, "the same species that invented war is capable of inventing peace." He was responsible for the newsletter of the Seville Statement from 1986 to 1994,[6] a history of its origins and effects,[7] as well as a study showing that if one believes that war is not biologically determined, one is more likely to work for peace.[8]
From 1992 until 2001 Adams worked with UNESCO as counselor, professional and director on the Culture of Peace, leading to the International Year for the Culture of Peace for which he was chair of its Taskforce. Since retiring from UNESCO, he coordinated the midterm and final Reports from the Civil Society for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and he has coordinated the Culture of Peace News Network and written books on the culture of war and the culture of peace.
Adams lives with his wife, Kiki Chauvin Adams, in Normandy, (France).[9]
Scientific career
While at Wesleyan University, Adams worked with Harry Sinnamon and students to understand the brain mechanisms of aggressive behavior.[10][11] A related work with Jonathan Mink and Rob Blumenschine was able to show a general rule that most vertebrate species devote between 2% and 8% of basal metabolism to the brain. Among the few exceptions are the great apes and humans that use more and domesticated animals that have been selected to use less.[12] Also at Wesleyan, along with colleague Alice Gold, it was shown that there is a rise in female-initiated sexual activity at the time of ovulation,[13] which is suppressed by the use of oral contraception. At this time he also began working on studies that would lead to the Seville Statement on Violence and that would underlie the concept of the culture of peace: for example, the study Why There Are So Few Women Warriors.[14]
Culture of Peace
The Culture of Peace[15] is a "set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals groups and nations."[16]
The Culture of Peace was first proposed by Father
In 1998 Adams was named director of the unit for the
Another task of the International Year for the Culture of Peace team was the preparation of a draft declaration and programme of action on a culture of peace that had been requested by the United Nations General Assembly. The document was adopted by the UN General Assembly as Resolution A/53/243
Since retiring from UNESCO, Adams has coordinated the further development of the Culture of Peace News Network as well as the Reports from the Civil Society for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. He has published a number of books on the Culture of Peace and is invited to lecture on this subject in Europe, Africa and Latin America as well as the United States and Canada.
Publications
Adams has published over 60 articles in scientific journals, many of which are included in the internet book The Aggression Systems.[31]
Books
- Master of the House,[32] Amazon 2018
- Peace,[33] Amazon 2019
- Page Poems,[34] Amazon 2019
- The American Peace Movements,[35] Advocate Press, 1985
- The Seville Statement on Violence: Preparing the Ground for the Constructing of Peace[36] UNESCO 1991
- Psychology for Peace Activists,[37] Amazon 1995
- UNESCO and a Culture of Peace: Promoting a Global Movement,[38] UNESCO 1995
- The History of the Culture of War,[39] Amazon, 2009
- I Have Seen the Promised Land: A Utopian Novella,[40] Amazon, 2009
- j'ai vu la terre promise: une nouvelle utopique (French Edition),[41] Amazon, 2009
- World Peace through the Town Hall,[42] Amazon, 2015
- Embrace the Fire: Plant the Seeds for a Culture of Peace,[43] Amazon 2015
- Cultura de Paz: Una utopía posible[44] (translation by Roberto Mercadillo), Herder Editorial 2015
See also
References
- S2CID 14606451.
- ^ https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87021683/ Library of Congress newspaper listing
- ^ "The American Peace Movements". www.culture-of-peace.info. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ Josh Gabbatiss, Sapiens; Josh Gabbatiss, Sapiens (July 19, 2017). "Nasty, Brutish and Short: Are Humans DNA-Wired to Kill?". Scientific American. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ "Purpose and Mission". ISRA. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ http://culture-of-peace.info/ssov_newsletter.html The Seville Statement Newsletter Index
- ^ "The Seville Statement on Violence: A Progress Report".
- ^ http://culture-of-peace.info/myth/title-page.html David Adams and Sarah Bosch, The myth that war is intrinsic to human nature discourages action for peace by young people, in J. Ramirez, R. Hinde, and J. Groebel (eds.), Essays on Violence, 121—37 (Seville: University of Seville Press, 1987, retrieved May 16, 2018
- ^ "Aquoirelle" (in French). Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Adams, David B. "Brain Mechanisms of Aggressive Behavior". Culture of Peace. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^ "The Aggression Systems".
- PMID 7282965. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
- PMID 703805.
- ^ Adams, David. "Why There Are So Few Women Warriors". Culture of Peace. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ "Definition of Culture of Peace".
- ^ "Culture of Peace | International Day of Peace".
- ^ "International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, 26 June-1 July 1989, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire: final report". unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000943/094314e.pdf The Seville Statement on Violence: Preparing the Ground for the Constructing of Peace
- ^ "Georges Kutukdjian".
- ^ "Ambassador Ahmed Sayyad".
- ^ "Co-operation to promote a culture of peace" (PDF).
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Unesco Culture of Peace Programme in El Salvador: An Initial Report – Parajon, Lourenco, and Adams". George Mason. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ "Mozambique Programme-Cover". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ "UNESCO and a Culture of Peace: Promoting a Global Movement" (PDF).
- ^ "Nobel Peace Laureates convened by the peace activist Pierre Marchand".
- ^ "World Information Board".
- ^ "Resolution A/53/243".
- S2CID 144891619.
- ^ "Early history of the culture of peace".
- ^ "The Aggression Systems".
- ^ Adams, David. "Master of the House" (PDF). Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "Peace" (PDF). Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "Page Poems" (PDF). Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "The American Peace Movements". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "The Seville Statement on Violence: preparing the ground for the construction of peace; 1991; 1992". UNESCO. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ Adams, David. "Psychology for Peace Activists". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "UNESCO and a Culture of Peace: Promoting a Global Movement" (PDF).
- ^ Adams, David. "The History of the Culture of War". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "I Have Seen the Promised Land: A Utopian Novella". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "j'ai vu la terre promise: une nouvelle utopique (French Edition)". Culture of Peace. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
- ^ Adams, David. "World Peace through the Town Hall". Culture of Peace. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Adams, David. "Embrace the Fire: Plant the Seeds for a Culture of Peace" (PDF). Culture of Peace. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ "Cultura de Paz: Una utopía posible". Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.