The statement, then known as a 'Statement on Violence', was designed to refute "the notion that organized human violence is biologically determined". The statement concludes: "Just as 'wars begin in the minds of men', peace also begins in our minds.
The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us. Once it was drafted and signed by the founding group in May, , the Statement on Violence was disseminated around the world, as described in the newsletter that was issued three or four times a year from through as well as two occasions later in and The Statement has been published in over scientific and popular journals, including versions translated into more than 20 languages.
By the time UNESCO published its brochure, the Statement had been endorsed or disseminated by 75 organizations, [ 6 ] including formal endorsements by three of the major social science organizations of the United States, the American Anthropological Association, [ 7 ] the American Psychological Association [ 8 ] [ 9 ] and the American Sociological Association. Belief concerning the relationship between warfare and biology may have practical implications. It has been shown that if one believes that war is biologically determined, he or she is less likely to engage in activities to promote peace.
Conversely, if one believes that war is not biologically determined, one is more likely to work for peace. In fact, according to international surveys in [ 12 ] about half of all young people believed that war was biologically determined. The result was replicated by studies in Finland [ 13 ] and the United States.
The cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker has criticized the Seville Statement as being an example of the moralistic fallacy. Pinker has used the Seville Statement as an example of the idea of biological determinism , the incorrect idea that genes are solely responsible for any of our behaviors.
