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Ian Morris (historian)

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people have found to create large, internally pacified societies that then drive down the rate of violent death. The lesson of the last 10,000 years of military history, he argues, is that the way to end war is by learning to manage it, not by trying to wish it out of existence. Morris also devotes a chapter to the 1974–1978
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in Britain in April 2014. Morris argues that there is enough evidence to trace the history of violence across many thousands of years and that a startling fact emerges. For all of its horrors, over the last 10,000 years, war has made the world safer and richer, as it is virtually the only way that
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Since joining Stanford, he has served as Associate Dean of Humanities and Sciences, Chair of the Classics Department, and Director of the Social Science History Institute. He was one of the founders of the Stanford Archaeology Center and has served two terms as its director. He has published
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has called it "an important book—one that challenges, stimulates and entertains. Anyone who does not believe there are lessons to be learned from history should start here." The book won several literary awards, including the 2011
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Ian Morris plans to develop his views on the first-millennium BC transformations (the shift from religion-based power to bureaucratic and military one, and the rise of
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devoted panels to discussing the book at their 2013 annual meetings. The book is being translated into Chinese.
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War! What is it Good For?: Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
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War! What is it Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
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Why the West Rules—For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future
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Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction, and was named as one of the books of the year by
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and Birmingham University. In 2012 his work was the subject of a lengthy profile in the
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Increased Affluence Explains the Emergence of Ascetic Wisdoms and Moralizing Religions
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The Measure of Civilisation: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations
639: 405: 393: 211: 59: 412:, and a number of other newspapers. It has been translated into 13 languages. 1460: 943: 724: 703: 680: 574: 465: 387: 370: 366: 278: 195: 79: 1451: 1424: 765:, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022; Profile Books, 2022 ISBN 9780374157272 1148:"Announcing the 2011 Literary Awards Festival Winners | PEN Center USA" 999: 908: 342: 270:. He has also won a Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009. 74: 940:"Classics and History Expert - Ian Morris | Humanities at Stanford" 474: 397: 763:
Geography Is Destiny: Britain and the World: A 10,000-Year History
32: 1450:, an article together with Nicolas Baumard, Alexandre Hyafil and 1176:. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011 607:
with Barry B. Powell; Prentice-Hall, 1st ed. 2005, 2nd ed. 2009
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Classical Greece: Ancient Histories and Modern Archaeologies,
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Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels: How Human Values Evolve
1410:, Interview with Ian Morris in www.theglobaldispatches.com. 1019: 1017: 927: 966:"H&S Dean's Award - School of Humanities and Sciences" 529:
Death-Ritual and Social Structure in Classical Antiquity,
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The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World,
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was titled "Burial and society at Athens, 1100-500 BC".
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to compare long-term Eastern and Western history. The
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extensively on the history and the archaeology of the
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Ian Morris interview on "Conversations With History,"
1365: 1507:Stanford University Department of Classics faculty 292:He has been awarded research fellowships from the 194:(born 27 January 1960) is a British historian and 1345: 1296:"War: What Is It Good For? by Ian Morris, review" 1458: 1194:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( 1094:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( 312:, and Institute for Research in the Humanities, 780: 778: 415: 273:Between 2000 and 2007, he directed Stanford's 348: 1512:Corresponding fellows of the British Academy 1404:, Stanford University Humanities Department. 1373:"84th Annual California Book Awards Winners" 876:"New Johnian Fellows of the British Academy" 450: 385:, explains Western domination of the globe. 198:who is the Willard Professor of Classics at 1346:Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (11 April 2014). 1322:"'War: What Is It Good For?' by Ian Morris" 775: 377:, rather than culture, religion, politics, 373:across the last 15,000 years, arguing that 316:. He is also a Corresponding Fellow of the 205: 1398:, Stanford University Classics Department. 827:. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2020 605:The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society, 31: 896:Burial and society at Athens, 1100-500 BC 619:The Ancient Economy: Evidence and Models, 579:Democracy 2500? Questions and Challenges, 320:and has been awarded honorary degrees by 294:John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation 140:Burial and society at Athens, 1100–500 BC 1402:Classics and History Expert - Ian Morris 1267: 1208: 813: 811: 258:. Since 1995, he has been at Stanford. 1477:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 1472:Alumni of the University of Birmingham 1459: 1220:(November/December): 7. Archived from 892: 477:. The German translation of the book, 214:, Staffordshire, England. He attended 210:Morris was born on 27 January 1960 in 1046: 792:. Stanford University. Archived from 302:National Endowment for the Humanities 1319: 1293: 1023: 808: 656:Co-editor, with Walter Scheidel, of 492: 254:From 1987 to 1995, he taught at the 234:(BA) degree in 1981. He undertook a 1110:Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels 903:(Ph.D). The British Library Board. 16:British historian and archaeologist 13: 1492:21st-century American male writers 1114: 942:. 17 February 2014. Archived from 445:Social Science History Association 14: 1538: 1527:American male non-fiction writers 1382: 1053:The Chronicle of Higher Education 839: 441:International Studies Association 1487:21st-century American historians 1431:' Foreign Policy magazine review 1320:Lutz, Catherine (10 July 2014). 1047:Parry, Marc (25 February 2013). 658:The Dynamics of Ancient Empires, 592:Archaeology as Cultural History, 1339: 1313: 1287: 1268:Shephard, Ben (19 April 2014). 1261: 1239: 1202: 1166: 1140: 1102: 1066: 1040: 968:. 3 August 2011. Archived from 509: 332:Tanner Lectures on Human Values 314:University of Wisconsin-Madison 1150:. 14 July 2012. Archived from 984: 958: 886: 868: 1: 1294:Lowe, Keith (25 April 2014). 1270:"Books: What Is It Good for?" 769: 617:Co-editor, with Joe Manning, 327:Chronicle of Higher Education 1174:"Smarter Reading - Newsweek" 1024:Trei, Lisa (24 April 2002). 240:St John's College, Cambridge 120:St John's College, Cambridge 7: 1211:"Books for the World Ahead" 856:. Stanford University. 2017 516:Burial and Ancient Society, 462:Farrar, Straus & Giroux 429:The Measure of Civilization 424:The Measure of Civilization 417:The Measure of Civilization 306:Center for Hellenic Studies 10: 1543: 1408:Why the West Rules for Now 750:Princeton University Press 700:Princeton University Press 483:Verwoesting en vooruitgang 433:Why the West Rules—For Now 421: 363:Why the West Rules—For Now 357:Why the West Rules—For Now 354: 350:Why the West Rules—For Now 242:, graduating in 1985. His 178:Why the West Rules—For Now 1427:podcast and video series. 721:Farrar, Straus and Giroux 677:Farrar, Straus and Giroux 561:A New Companion to Homer, 504:War! What is it Good For? 452:War! What is it Good For? 431:is a companion volume to 249: 185: 172: 151: 146: 133: 97: 92: 88: 67: 42: 30: 23: 1436:20 November 2013 at the 1419:21 February 2011 at the 1209:Ferguson, Niall (2011). 1108:Note 24 to Chapter 5 in 502:Nonfiction Finalist for 487:Guerra, Âżpara quĂ© sirve? 228:University of Birmingham 206:Early life and education 110:University of Birmingham 62:, Staffordshire, England 1482:American archaeologists 1394:5 November 2013 at the 1028:. Stanford News Service 901:E-Thesis Online Service 1517:British archaeologists 1049:"The Shape of History" 893:Morris, I. M. (1985). 854:Department of Classics 790:Department of Classics 500:California Book Awards 479:Krieg: Wozu er gut ist 1122:"On top of the world" 264:ancient Mediterranean 256:University of Chicago 216:Alleyne's High School 159:University of Chicago 105:Alleyne’s High School 1257:on 20 November 2013. 581:Kendall-Hunt, 1997 471:Gombe Chimpanzee War 336:Princeton University 238:(PhD) degree at the 236:Doctor of Philosophy 230:, graduating with a 226:. He studied at the 224:Stone, Staffordshire 220:comprehensive school 1352:Wall Street Journal 972:on 11 December 2015 915:on 20 February 2023 563:E. J. Brill, 1997 345:) in his new book. 330:. He delivered the 200:Stanford University 164:Stanford University 93:Academic background 1522:British historians 1442:Why the West Rules 1002:on 5 November 2013 996:Hoover Institution 946:on 1 November 2009 909:10.17863/CAM.20100 796:on 5 November 2013 437:Why the West Rules 410:The New York Times 375:physical geography 322:De Pauw University 298:Hoover Institution 192:Ian Matthew Morris 1251:foreignpolicy.com 880:www.joh.cam.ac.uk 733:978-0-374-28600-2 712:978-0-691-15568-5 689:978-0-374-29002-3 666:978-0-19-537158-1 652:978-0-521-78053-7 630:978-0-8047-5755-3 613:978-0-13-921156-0 600:978-0-631-19602-0 587:978-0-7872-4466-8 569:978-90-04-09989-0 551:978-0-521-45678-4 545:Cambridge, 1994 537:978-0-521-37611-2 524:978-0-521-38738-5 518:Cambridge, 1987 493:Awards and honors 460:was published by 189: 188: 1534: 1377: 1376: 1369: 1363: 1362: 1360: 1358: 1343: 1337: 1336: 1334: 1332: 1317: 1311: 1310: 1308: 1306: 1291: 1285: 1284: 1282: 1280: 1265: 1259: 1258: 1253:. Archived from 1243: 1237: 1236: 1234: 1232: 1226: 1215: 1206: 1200: 1199: 1193: 1185: 1183: 1181: 1170: 1164: 1163: 1161: 1159: 1144: 1138: 1137: 1135: 1133: 1128:. 7 October 2010 1118: 1112: 1106: 1100: 1099: 1093: 1085: 1083: 1081: 1074:"Princeton UCHV" 1070: 1064: 1063: 1061: 1059: 1044: 1038: 1037: 1035: 1033: 1021: 1012: 1011: 1009: 1007: 998:. Archived from 988: 982: 981: 979: 977: 962: 956: 955: 953: 951: 936: 925: 924: 922: 920: 911:. Archived from 890: 884: 883: 872: 866: 865: 863: 861: 851: 843: 837: 836: 834: 832: 815: 806: 805: 803: 801: 782: 646:Cambridge, 2007 634:Co-editor, with 594:Blackwell, 2000 573:Co-editor, with 555:Co-editor, with 531:Cambridge 1992 310:Washington, D.C. 232:Bachelor of Arts 56: 52: 50: 35: 21: 20: 1542: 1541: 1537: 1536: 1535: 1533: 1532: 1531: 1457: 1456: 1438:Wayback Machine 1421:Wayback Machine 1396:Wayback Machine 1385: 1380: 1371: 1370: 1366: 1356: 1354: 1344: 1340: 1330: 1328: 1318: 1314: 1304: 1302: 1300:Daily Telegraph 1292: 1288: 1278: 1276: 1266: 1262: 1245: 1244: 1240: 1230: 1228: 1224: 1218:Foreign Affairs 1213: 1207: 1203: 1187: 1186: 1179: 1177: 1172: 1171: 1167: 1157: 1155: 1154:on 14 July 2012 1146: 1145: 1141: 1131: 1129: 1120: 1119: 1115: 1107: 1103: 1087: 1086: 1079: 1077: 1072: 1071: 1067: 1057: 1055: 1045: 1041: 1031: 1029: 1022: 1015: 1005: 1003: 990: 989: 985: 975: 973: 964: 963: 959: 949: 947: 938: 937: 928: 918: 916: 891: 887: 874: 873: 869: 859: 857: 849: 847:"Ian Morris CV" 845: 844: 840: 830: 828: 817: 816: 809: 799: 797: 784: 783: 776: 772: 746:Margaret Atwood 742:Tanner Lectures 636:Walter Scheidel 557:Barry B. Powell 512: 495: 455: 426: 420: 402:Foreign Affairs 361:His 2010 book, 359: 353: 318:British Academy 252: 244:doctoral thesis 208: 168: 129: 84: 63: 57: 54: 53:27 January 1960 48: 46: 38: 26: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1540: 1530: 1529: 1524: 1519: 1514: 1509: 1504: 1499: 1494: 1489: 1484: 1479: 1474: 1469: 1455: 1454: 1445: 1428: 1411: 1405: 1399: 1384: 1383:External links 1381: 1379: 1378: 1364: 1338: 1312: 1286: 1260: 1238: 1227:on 14 May 2013 1201: 1165: 1139: 1113: 1101: 1065: 1039: 1013: 983: 957: 926: 885: 867: 838: 824:Who's Who 2021 807: 773: 771: 768: 767: 766: 760: 735: 714: 691: 668: 654: 640:Richard Saller 632: 615: 602: 589: 571: 553: 539: 526: 511: 508: 507: 506: 494: 491: 464:in the US and 454: 449: 422:Main article: 419: 414: 406:Foreign Policy 394:PEN Center USA 355:Main article: 352: 347: 251: 248: 212:Stoke-on-Trent 207: 204: 187: 186: 183: 182: 174: 170: 169: 167: 166: 161: 155: 153: 149: 148: 144: 143: 137: 131: 130: 128: 127: 117: 107: 101: 99: 95: 94: 90: 89: 86: 85: 83: 82: 77: 71: 69: 65: 64: 60:Stoke-on-Trent 58: 44: 40: 39: 37:Morris in 2014 36: 28: 27: 24: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1539: 1528: 1525: 1523: 1520: 1518: 1515: 1513: 1510: 1508: 1505: 1503: 1502:Living people 1500: 1498: 1497:Futurologists 1495: 1493: 1490: 1488: 1485: 1483: 1480: 1478: 1475: 1473: 1470: 1468: 1465: 1464: 1462: 1453: 1449: 1446: 1443: 1439: 1435: 1432: 1429: 1426: 1422: 1418: 1415: 1412: 1409: 1406: 1403: 1400: 1397: 1393: 1390: 1387: 1386: 1374: 1368: 1353: 1349: 1342: 1327: 1323: 1316: 1301: 1297: 1290: 1275: 1271: 1264: 1256: 1252: 1248: 1242: 1223: 1219: 1212: 1205: 1197: 1191: 1175: 1169: 1153: 1149: 1143: 1127: 1126:The Economist 1123: 1117: 1111: 1105: 1097: 1091: 1075: 1069: 1054: 1050: 1043: 1027: 1020: 1018: 1001: 997: 993: 987: 971: 967: 961: 945: 941: 935: 933: 931: 914: 910: 906: 902: 898: 897: 889: 881: 877: 871: 855: 848: 842: 826: 825: 820: 814: 812: 795: 791: 787: 781: 779: 774: 764: 761: 759: 758:9780691160399 755: 751: 747: 743: 739: 736: 734: 730: 726: 725:Profile Books 722: 718: 715: 713: 709: 705: 704:Profile Books 701: 697: 696: 692: 690: 686: 682: 681:Profile Books 678: 674: 673: 669: 667: 663: 660:Oxford, 2009 659: 655: 653: 649: 645: 641: 637: 633: 631: 627: 623: 620: 616: 614: 610: 606: 603: 601: 597: 593: 590: 588: 584: 580: 576: 575:Kurt Raaflaub 572: 570: 566: 562: 558: 554: 552: 548: 544: 540: 538: 534: 530: 527: 525: 521: 517: 514: 513: 505: 501: 497: 496: 490: 488: 484: 480: 476: 472: 467: 466:Profile Books 463: 459: 453: 448: 446: 442: 438: 434: 430: 425: 418: 413: 411: 407: 403: 399: 395: 390: 389: 388:The Economist 384: 380: 376: 372: 368: 364: 358: 351: 346: 344: 343:Axial thought 339: 337: 333: 329: 328: 323: 319: 315: 311: 307: 303: 299: 295: 290: 288: 284: 280: 279:Monte Polizzo 276: 271: 269: 268:world history 265: 259: 257: 247: 245: 241: 237: 233: 229: 225: 221: 217: 213: 203: 201: 197: 196:archaeologist 193: 184: 180: 179: 175: 173:Notable works 171: 165: 162: 160: 157: 156: 154: 150: 147:Academic work 145: 141: 138: 136: 132: 125: 121: 118: 115: 111: 108: 106: 103: 102: 100: 96: 91: 87: 81: 80:archaeologist 78: 76: 73: 72: 70: 66: 61: 55:(age 64) 45: 41: 34: 29: 25:Ian M. Morris 22: 19: 1452:Pascal Boyer 1441: 1367: 1355:. Retrieved 1351: 1341: 1329:. Retrieved 1325: 1315: 1303:. Retrieved 1299: 1289: 1277:. Retrieved 1274:The Guardian 1273: 1263: 1255:the original 1250: 1241: 1229:. Retrieved 1222:the original 1217: 1204: 1178:. Retrieved 1168: 1156:. Retrieved 1152:the original 1142: 1130:. Retrieved 1125: 1116: 1109: 1104: 1078:. Retrieved 1068: 1056:. Retrieved 1052: 1042: 1030:. Retrieved 1004:. Retrieved 1000:the original 995: 992:"Ian Morris" 986: 974:. Retrieved 970:the original 960: 948:. Retrieved 944:the original 917:. Retrieved 913:the original 900: 895: 888: 879: 870: 858:. Retrieved 853: 841: 829:. Retrieved 822: 798:. Retrieved 794:the original 789: 786:"Ian Morris" 762: 737: 716: 693: 670: 657: 643: 618: 604: 591: 578: 560: 542: 528: 515: 510:Bibliography 503: 486: 482: 478: 457: 456: 451: 436: 432: 428: 427: 416: 386: 362: 360: 349: 340: 325: 291: 272: 260: 253: 209: 191: 190: 176: 152:Institutions 142: (1985) 139: 18: 1467:1960 births 1425:UC Berkeley 800:10 November 365:, compares 68:Occupations 1461:Categories 1389:Ian Morris 770:References 275:excavation 49:1960-01-27 1190:cite news 383:great men 338:in 2012. 98:Education 75:Historian 1434:Archived 1417:Archived 1392:Archived 1090:cite web 919:17 March 860:17 March 831:17 March 752:, 2015; 723:, 2014; 702:, 2013; 679:, 2010; 622:Stanford 541:Editor, 475:Tanzania 398:Newsweek 379:genetics 1357:19 June 1331:19 June 1305:19 June 1279:19 June 1231:19 June 1180:19 June 1158:19 June 1132:19 June 1080:19 June 1058:19 June 1032:19 June 1006:19 June 976:19 June 950:19 June 882:. 2012. 727:, 2014 706:, 2013 683:, 2010 624:, 2005 266:and on 1326:SFGate 756:  731:  710:  687:  664:  650:  628:  611:  598:  585:  567:  549:  535:  522:  283:Sicily 250:Career 181:(2010) 135:Thesis 1225:(PDF) 1214:(PDF) 850:(PDF) 740:(The 498:2014 381:, or 287:Italy 1359:2017 1333:2017 1307:2017 1281:2017 1233:2017 1196:link 1182:2017 1160:2017 1134:2017 1096:link 1082:2017 1060:2017 1034:2017 1008:2017 978:2017 952:2017 921:2021 862:2021 833:2021 802:2010 754:ISBN 729:ISBN 708:ISBN 685:ISBN 662:ISBN 648:ISBN 638:and 626:ISBN 609:ISBN 596:ISBN 583:ISBN 565:ISBN 547:ISBN 533:ISBN 520:ISBN 443:and 371:West 369:and 367:East 218:, a 43:Born 1440:of 905:doi 748:), 473:in 408:, 334:at 308:in 277:at 222:in 124:PhD 1463:: 1423:a 1350:. 1324:. 1298:. 1272:. 1249:. 1216:. 1192:}} 1188:{{ 1124:. 1092:}} 1088:{{ 1051:. 1016:^ 994:. 929:^ 899:. 878:. 852:. 821:. 810:^ 788:. 777:^ 719:, 698:, 675:, 642:, 577:, 559:, 489:. 404:, 400:, 304:, 300:, 296:, 289:. 285:, 281:, 202:. 114:BA 51:) 1444:. 1375:. 1361:. 1335:. 1309:. 1283:. 1235:. 1198:) 1184:. 1162:. 1136:. 1098:) 1084:. 1062:. 1036:. 1010:. 980:. 954:. 923:. 907:: 864:. 835:. 804:. 126:) 122:( 116:) 112:( 47:(

Index

An older white man, with short white hair, in a beige jacket, stood in front of a presentation screen
Stoke-on-Trent
Historian
archaeologist
Alleyne’s High School
University of Birmingham
BA
St John's College, Cambridge
PhD
Thesis
University of Chicago
Stanford University
Why the West Rules—For Now
archaeologist
Stanford University
Stoke-on-Trent
Alleyne's High School
comprehensive school
Stone, Staffordshire
University of Birmingham
Bachelor of Arts
Doctor of Philosophy
St John's College, Cambridge
doctoral thesis
University of Chicago
ancient Mediterranean
world history
excavation
Monte Polizzo
Sicily

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