Serial Killers – Philosophy for Everyone: Being and Killing

They terrify us, and yet we love to read about them, to watch films about them, and some even fantasize about meeting them; this is the horror pleasure reaction to serial killers whose gruesome acts hold a deep and disturbing lure.

Serial Killers  Philosophy for Everyone offers a philosophical examination of real and fictional serial killers, and investigates our profound intrigue with serial murderers. Authors from various academic fields, as well as true crime writers and police officers, delve into such questions as:

What drives people to kill repeatedly? Can a serial killer be good and moral? What is it about serial killers that fascinates us? Do serial killers such as Ian Brady, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Zodiac Killer, or fictional characters such as Dexter or Hannibal Lecter, make us understand ourselves differently? Investigating existential, ethical, and political questions via real murder cases, this is a philosophical examination of our enduring fascination with these grisly figures.

Foreword ( John M. Doris).

Acknowledgments (S. Waller).

Introduction: Meditations on Murder, or What is so Philosophical about Serial Killers? (S. Waller and William E. Deal).

PART I I THINK THEREFORE I KILL: The Philosophical Musings of Serial Killers.

1 Man is the Most Dangerous Animal of All: A Philosophical Gaze into the Writings of the Zodiac Killer (Andrew M. Winters).

2 A Philosophy of Serial Killing: Sade, Nietzsche, and Brady at the Gates of Janus (David Schmid).

3 The Situation of the Jury: Attribution Bias in the Trials of Accused Serial Killers (Mark Alfano).

PART II CAN YOU BLAME THEM? ETHICS, EVIL, AND SERIAL KILLING.

4 Serial Killers as Practical Moral Skeptics: A Historical Survey with Interviews (Amanda Howard).

5 Are Psychopathic Serial Killers Evil? Are They Blameworthy for What They Do? (Manuel Vargas).

6 Sympathy for the Devil: Can a Serial Killer Ever Be Good? (Matthew Brophy).

PART III DANGEROUS INFATUATIONS: The Public Fascination with Serial Killers.

7 The Allure of the Serial Killer (Eric Dietrich and Tara Fox Hall).

8 Dexter′s Dark World: The Serial Killer as Superhero (Susan Amper).

PART IV A EULOGY FOR EMOTION: The Lack of Empathy and the Urge to Kill.

9 Killing with Kindness: Nature, Nurture, and the Female Serial Killer (Elizabeth Schechter and Harold Schechter).

10 It Puts the Lotion in the Basket: The Language of Psychopathy (Chris Keegan).

11 Are Serial Killers Cold–Blooded Killers? (Andrew Terjesen).

PART V CREEPY COGNITION: Talking and Thinking about Serial Killers.

12 The Serial Killer was (Cognitively) Framed (William E. Deal).

13 Wolves and Widows: Naming, Metaphor, and the Language of Serial Murder (Wendy M. Zirngibl).

14 An Arresting Conversation: Police Philosophize about the Armed and Dangerous (S. Waller (with Diane Amarillas and Karen Kos))..

PART VI PSYCHO–OLOGY: Killer Mindsets and Meditations on Murder.

15 Psychopathy and Will to Power: Ted Bundy and Dennis Rader (Richard M. Gray).

16 The Thread of Death, or the Compulsion to Kill (J. S. Piven).

A Solemn Afterword: A Message from the Victim′s Network (Mary Miller).

A Timeline of Serial Killers (Amanda Howard).

Notes on Contributors.

Editor
S. Waller is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University Bozeman. Her areas of research are philosophy of neurology, philosophy of cognitive ethology (especially dolphins, wolves, and coyotes), and philosophy of mind, specifically the parts of the mind we disavow.

Series Editor
Fritz Allhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co–editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley–Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley–Blackwell, 2007).

"I found this book enlightening in many ways and on some things I′m not going to make too many mistakes if I use such people in any of my stories. I should also point out that none of the material is too graphic and centres mostly on what makes serial killers tick even if there is no precise pattern." (SFCrowsnest.co.uk, 1 April 2011)

"If you′re a Dexter fan looking for someplace to start in learning about real–life serial killers, this is a solid and fairly complete volume to start with. At a slim 248 pages, it′s also ideal for those who don′t have the time to invest in a larger volume. As the title of the series implies, this really is a book that′s accessible to everyone." (Digital Air Waves, November 2010)

"There is very little to complain about here. The language used is simple and it certainly leaves the reader with plenty of food for thought." (Curious Book Fan, November 2010)

"One thing I can say about this book, is it stays in your head, at least parts of it. Weeks after reading Serial Killers, Philosophy for Everyone, I still can′t help but come back to the section concerning Dexter and how peoples outlook on a serial killer changes based on what they know of a serial killers background and family life. The book is definitely a conversation starter, having many since adding it to my coffee table books. You can always tell whose interested and who tries to pretend they don′t see it." (Gatekeeper Chronicles blog, November 2010)