Full Description
Capital punishment, serial killings, war, terrorism, abortion, honour killings, euthanasia, suicide bombings, war, and genocide: all involve the taking of life. Put most simply, all involve killing other people. However, cultural context heavily influences heavily how people perceive these acts, and most people reading this paragraph will likely disagree on the extent to which these "count" as killing.
For such an evolved species, humans can be violent far beyond the point of humanity. Why We Kill examines this violence in its many forms, exploring how culture plays a role in people's understanding and definition of violent action. From the first chapter, which examines "conventional" homicide, to the final chapter's bone-chilling account of the Rwandan genocide, this fascinating book makes compelling reading.
Contents
Introduction
Religion, Culture, and Killing
Nancy Loucks, Sally Smith Holt, and Joanna R. Adler
1 Homicide in Context
Sophie Pike, Cherly Allsop, and Fiona Brookman
2 'You Always Hurt the One You Love': Homicide in a Domestic Context
Maria Kaspersson
3 Serial Killing
Elizabeth Yardley
4 Mass Shootings in America
Frederic Lemieux
5 Capital Punishment: Creating More Victims?
Seema Kandelia
6 Abortion
Lawrence M. Hinman
7 Euthanasia - The Moral Landscape
Lawrence M. Hinman
8 Suicide
Kay Nooney
9 Terrorism - A Unique Form of Political Violence
Rohan Guneratna
10 Collective Violence and War
Daya Somasundaram and T. Umaharan
11 Massacre at Murambi: The Rank and File Killers of Genocide
Stephen D. Smith
Epilogue
