Humanities & Social Sciences 8 (2016 9) 1746-1753 ~ ~ ~ УДК 177.3:159.922 The Violence of Non-Violence and Civil Disobedience: a Psychological Inference Kingsley U. Omoyibo and Anthony Afe. <...> Asekhauno* University of Benin p.m.b.1154, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria Received 20.03.2016, received in revised form 21.05.2016, accepted 17.07.2016 By its very nature and philosophy, non-violence (and the practice or action of civil disobedience) amounts to violence. <...> In its best, non-violence is the philosophy of using peaceful means, not force, to bring about political or social change. <...> Civil disobedience implies the willful and deliberate violation of certain law, civil rule and political authority in resistance to some real or perceived injustice. <...> In other words, civil disobedience is the philosophical tradition that upholds non-violence as the sole route to resisting oppression and injustice. <...> But the question is, is the very idea of civil disobedience, as the practice of non-violence, not itself violent? <...> In consideration of this, this article indicated the nature of civil disobedience, provided a typology of violence, and therefrom argued that if violence implies violation (whether physical or psychological); that if non-violence denounces violence; and that if civil disobedience is the praxis of non-violence, then, going by its very nature, theory and practice, non-violence/civil disobedience amounts to some form of violation or violence – the supposed evil that it is meant to cure. <...> Commonly, the idea of ‘violence’ is equated with the use of force. <...> Etymologically, the word, ‘violence’ finds roots in French, Greek, and Latin words. <...> To ‘violate’ therefore, the intention is to inflict injury or damage on an/a object or subject. ‘Violence’, therefore, can be physical or psychological. <...> It is notable that the word, ‘violation’ is an interesting feature Kingsley U. Omoyibo, Anthony Afe. <...> This further implies that it is possible to violate persons, (even kill them), principles, nature, things, or objects, by either inflicting physical harm on them, or infringe on their rights or freedom. <...> These acts are made more effective, debilitating and pervasive, with developments in art, science, technology, and even in human rationality. <...> Although developments in science and technology have, doubtless, helped man to cope with emergent life problems, but besides providing the materials for violence, further, technology also has spread a world culture <...>