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I just read a monograph on serial killers. It stated that they had quite a broad variety of motives. Aside from the most obvious and frequently cited one there is anger, thrill seeking, attention seeking and gain.
In asking myself what these people have in common it slowly dawned on me that we have been asking the wrong question.
Jack's motive could have been just about anything. What is wrong with these people is not their accelerator, its their brakes.
I don't know anyone who would say that they've never gotten mad. All of us have. But getting mad does not account for serial murder. Most incidents involving anger never get that far. The brakes work.
For those who want a thrill there are roller coasters, drag racing (which I don't advocate), sky diving, etc. Some human beings think these things are fun. I respect that although I am not one of them. Novels have been written about people who hunt other human beings as one would hunt foxes or deer. The challenge might appeal to some, but the moral issues are so definitive that we put the brakes on.
I have known some attention seekers in my time and may be somewhat guilty myself (why else post on these boards). There are legitimate outlets for this too.
There are also legal ways to get money.
Many people experience these needs, emotions, wants and desires, so I don't think that this is what distinguishes an SK. What (in my opinion) makes them different is not the accelerator, but the brakes. Somebody has cut their brake line. There is no twinge of conscience, no feeling of "I won't do that because its wrong." There doesn't seem to be any moral inhibition.
In trying to understand these people we need to look at why they don't seem to have any desire to avoid wrongdoing, not why they get mad, or why they want attention. The world is full of people who have those problems and needs and most of them don't kill.
In asking myself what these people have in common it slowly dawned on me that we have been asking the wrong question.
Jack's motive could have been just about anything. What is wrong with these people is not their accelerator, its their brakes.
I don't know anyone who would say that they've never gotten mad. All of us have. But getting mad does not account for serial murder. Most incidents involving anger never get that far. The brakes work.
For those who want a thrill there are roller coasters, drag racing (which I don't advocate), sky diving, etc. Some human beings think these things are fun. I respect that although I am not one of them. Novels have been written about people who hunt other human beings as one would hunt foxes or deer. The challenge might appeal to some, but the moral issues are so definitive that we put the brakes on.
I have known some attention seekers in my time and may be somewhat guilty myself (why else post on these boards). There are legitimate outlets for this too.
There are also legal ways to get money.
Many people experience these needs, emotions, wants and desires, so I don't think that this is what distinguishes an SK. What (in my opinion) makes them different is not the accelerator, but the brakes. Somebody has cut their brake line. There is no twinge of conscience, no feeling of "I won't do that because its wrong." There doesn't seem to be any moral inhibition.
In trying to understand these people we need to look at why they don't seem to have any desire to avoid wrongdoing, not why they get mad, or why they want attention. The world is full of people who have those problems and needs and most of them don't kill.