LIVING OUR LIMBIC LEGACY 33world, however, acting on our rage may not be practical or even legal, so
the limbic brain has developed other strategies beyond the more primi-
tive physical fight response.
One form of modern aggression is an argument. Although the origi-
nal meaning of the term argument relates simply to a debate or discus-
sion, the word is increasingly used to describe a verbal altercation. An
overheated argument is essentially “fighting” by nonphysical means. The
use of insults, ad hominem phrases, counterallegations, denigration of
professional stature, goading, and sarcasm are all, in their own ways, the
modern equivalents of fighting, because they are all forms of aggression.
If you think about it, civil lawsuits can even be construed as a modern
and socially sanctioned type of fight or aggression in which litigants ag-
gressively argue two opposing viewpoints.
While humans probably engage in physical altercations far less now
than in other periods in our history, fighting is still a part of our limbic
armory. Although some people are more prone to violence than others,
our limbic response shows up in many ways other than punching, kick-
ing, and biting. You can be very aggressive without physical contact, for
example, just by using your posture, your eyes, by puffing out your chest,
Eye blocking is a very powerful display of
consternation, disbelief, or disagreement.Fig. 6