[Report on some recent findings in research on the etiology of aggression].

Instead of considering aggression as an autonomous instinct, it is preferable to speak of a potential of aggression which can be exploited by several biological functions. Contemporary ethology insists on the instrumental and polyadaptive nature of aggression. It is the aim of the first section of this paper to reveal the close links which exist between aggression, social organization and adaptation to the environment. The second part reviews some results of recent studies on aggression in primates. It is possible to gain certain hypotheses on human aggression from ethological research work. Territoriality for instance may be interpreted as product of the interaction between the human biogram and the environment rather than as a distinctive and omni-present feature of human nature. Even extreme forms of human aggression (cruelty, sadism, slavery) do not necessarily imply an increased potential for aggressive in our species.