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Arryn said:
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deccan said:
Taking a wild stab, I'll say that you'll be trying to logically forge a link between the long-term consequences of such behavior and the principle of self-preservation.
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You're getting warmer. Very warm. 
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Now I'm really confused. Societies that have encouraged (or at least tolerated) wife-beating have been around for a long time, and still seem to be doing pretty well compared to those that object to it. It's hard to make any argument for self-preservation from that. Nor can I see it on an individual basis, for similar reasons. If anything, the evidence is the other way: in some societies, the upper classes are the most tolerant of women, but it's often observed that those classes have the lowest birth rates. (Yes, that's correlation and not causation, but still: if I was gonna bet on who would have the most descendents, I'd bet on the poor, ignorant, illogical fool who treats his wife like dirt.)