CoNfLIcT

Part 1: Cooperation
We naturally want to cooperate with each other, and when conflict arises it, it makes our entire biological under-belly feel uneasy. "Humans, plants, and animals are made up of cells that learned to cooperate long ago. Together they formed multicellular organisms, increasing each individual cell’s chances of replication and survival in the process." This quote comes from an article titled "Birds Do. Bats Do It." Written by Alex Dixon and Jeremy Adam Smith from The Greater Good Science Center. This article is full of interesting cooperative habits of ants, fish, birds, bats, and humans.

I especially find the cooperative habits of birds to be interesting. In order for them to make the best decisions as a group they must all communicate and work together. When I see a sphere of birds flying around, I get super jazzed about the cooperation that must be happening. Check out this video:

 

Part 2: Opinion 

Anyway, this biological wiring explains the emotional difficulties surrounding conflict, but it doesn't explain its existence. I have found it to be interesting in class discussing the root of conflict, being an unmet need. The more I dive into this idea, the more I have to agree. When past conflicts come to mind, there is always an unmet need to be found.

I would say an unmet need also has a strong emotional fear attached to it. The fear of a need being unmet causes the majority of inter/intra personal conflicts I have noticed. Conflicts seem to be a cycle of unmet need followed by fear, which creates stress, and inevitably more fear...until the conflict is resolved.
This video is a good example of conflict and fear attached: It is interesting to observe the emotions, although they are dramatized a tad.

There are several inter and intra conflicts happening in this short video, related to unmet needs. Some of these unmet needs are perceived notions too. (interesting)

Subject A - The Mother :

4 Needs 

1. to be a good mother - for others to know she is a good mother
2. for her son to be healthy
3. some quality time spent with her son
4. play-time in her life

In order for this blog to make sense, I will try and get to the point. From an optimists point of view we are all naturally cooperative people. (birds) But, conflict occurs when individuals have unmet needs. These unmet needs lead to fears and stress in our lives. When we logically break down conflict into finding an unmet need, we can then relieve the fear and stress associated with it. Analyzing, facing, and critically thinking about conflicts is the only way to have satisfactory resolutions to conflicts and build stronger relationships in life.