Functional Complementarity of Violence and Social Control in Studies of Moral Evolution

Abstract

The paper presents a critical analysis of the concept of functional complementarity between violence and social control in studies on the evolution of morality. The author challenges the thesis of an inherent and inextricable link between violence and moral control, dominant in the works of scholars such as Boehm, Wrangham, Bowles and Gintis. In their works, violence is interpreted as an evolutionarily determined tool for maintaining intragroup cooperation (strong reciprocity) and intergroup competition (parochial altruism). The research methodology involves an interdisciplinary critique based on data from cultural anthropology, evolutionary game theory, and primatology. The aim is not to deny the functional relationship per se, but to demonstrate its overstated clarity and apparent evolutionary inevitability. A critical examination reveals methodological limitations and potential biases in the interpretation of empirical data supporting the complementarity hypothesis. The author argues that the role and forms of violence as tools of moral control are significantly socially and culturally conditioned, thereby weakening the thesis of their absolute immanence. Counterarguments draw on data concerning the cultural variability of violence practices, the capacity for intergroup cooperation, the plasticity of social control, as well as the concepts of “moral bubbles” (Magnani) and the “moral Dunning-Kruger effect,” which illustrate the dysfunctionality and irrationality of proactive violence. The central conclusion of the paper is that the connection between violence and social control, despite its evolutionary roots, is not rigidly deterministic but is mediated by cultural mechanisms and contextual factors. This opens up possibilities for socially overcoming the logic of violence through institutions and reflective practices. A prospective path for future research lies in analyzing the conditions under which violence loses its functionality and in seeking cultural alternatives that promote the development of inclusive forms of cooperation.