Serial Killers and Philosophy

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).

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.