David Smith quoted in the Northwest Pacific Inlander

Associate professor of philosophy David Livingstone Smith was quoted in an article entitled "Blood Sport", which appeared in the Northwest Pacific Inlander on July 6.

Smith, operator of a website called Real Human Nature, says blood sports are practically encoded in our DNA. "I'm afraid I think it's part of human nature.  We have this two-sided character.  We're inclined to both do violence to others and to enjoy watching it and thinking about it," he says.  "And at the same time, we're also horrified by it."

Smith, whose recent research revolved around dehumanization, thinks wrestlers like those in SAW (Spokane Anarchy Wrestling) think of their ability to fight and deal with pain as a commodity. "There's some reason for people doing it - some people might be doing it because they are screwed up, but I doubt it. If you look at culture where warriors play a role, [they're] glamorized.  They are regarded as sexually attractive."

"We found the same thing in street gangs: The more violent, daring members of gangs have a sort of glamour about them.  Smith questions whether SAW members hurt themselves more than some athletes, such as ballerinas or marathon runners.  "There's certain kinds of pain that people inflict on themselves that's regarded as socially acceptable.  It's just done in a way that we're more accustomed to, but there probably isn't a profound difference."

Smith is the author of "Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind" and "The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War."