Serial Killers Essay -- Can Biology make us Murderers?

"One must feel sorry for those who have strange tastes, but never insult them. Their wrong is Nature's too; they are no more responsible for having come into the world with tendencies unlike ours than are we for being born bandy-legged or well-proportioned". Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), "Dialogue the Fifth" (1795). If who we are and what we do originates in the brain, than the structure of and the occurrences therein can explain for our entire catalogue of personalities and behaviors. However, what about deviant behavior and personalities? If deviation implies wrong or inaccurate behavior, is there something wrong or inaccurate in the brains of those who are devious? The possibility seems immanent, but also too easy. Surely there must be something wrong with someone who is extremely violent, or hurts individuals in ways our society will not allow. There are few things more repellent to 'human nature' and morality than the concept of a serial killer. What is different about the brains of these individuals whom our society finds unforgivable and unredeemable predators? Society might find a biological reason for such atrocities more comfortable than the prospects of 'good and evil' or a mistake. This paper will catalogue and attempt to organize the current biological differences between our minds and that of a serial killer. Can Biology make us Murderers? Recent reports in science have found discrete locations in the brain that are used in intricate systems that serve as the human moral compass (1).Changes in the brain have long been known to change the behaviors of a man. In the famous example of Phineas Gage, an accident at his job caused an iron rod to pierce through Gage's skull. Gage was able to stand and speak a... ...ield. http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/E/equinox/psyc_transcript.html 7)Towards a Unified Theory of William Jefferson Clinton, It was tough sifting through all the sites on serial killers that offered no real information (and there were a Lot of them seeing that there is a strange subculture around the topic). Strangely enough, I found many sites that showed up on search engines under the word 'psychopath' that focused on the Clinton Administration. I was surprised (as much as a Republican can be.) Needless to say, the more intelligent ones had information that pertained to my topic. This was one of them. http://zolatimes.com/v3.13/unified_clinton.htm 8)Psychopaths: Findings Point to Brain Differences, A short article directly pertaining to my topic. Robert Hare is one of the leading figures in this field. http://www.crime-times.org/97b/w97bp4.htm