INTRODUCTION (SECOND PART)
We state our position in the form of five propositions. We are aware that there are many other issues about violence and war that could be fruitfully addressed from the standpoint of our disciplines, but we restrict ourselves here to what we consider a most important first step.
COMMENTARY
Like all scientific statements, this cannot be the final word on the subject. Instead, it is an important first step.
Some people have criticized the Statement by saying, "How do you know that someday scientists may not learn new data and develop new theories which contradict what you say today?"
The Statement recognizes that "science is a human cultural product which cannot be definitive or all encompassing." The points made in the Statement represent our present state of knowledge. Future research will no doubt elaborate upon these points, but there is no reason to think that it will change them in essence.
Therefore, the Statement has drawn its conclusions as carefully as possible. It has tried in all cases to base the conclusions on scientific data and to state them in such a way that they do not claim more truth than the data can support. Where there were disagreements among the participants or where disagreements might be expected from other scientists and from various disciplines, the Statement did not address certain issues.
Thus, the Statement does not try to list the factors that cause war and institutional violence. These factors will be addressed in future work. Unesco has decided to organize an international interdisciplinary seminar to study the cultural and social causes of violence as a contribution to further reflection on the subject.
The success of the Statement in drawing conclusions as carefully as possible can be measured by the large number of professional scientific organizations that have endorsed it (see list on page 34).
You, the reader, are urged to consult the scientific publications on which the Statement is based. They are listed at the end of this brochure. Each of those publications also contains many references as well. Readers are urged to take part in the continuing scientific research and debate on this important matter, which may well intensify in the coming years.
