Philosophy Club: The Psychology of Violence
Please join us in Auerbach 320 or online this Wednesday, March 1, from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., for our next meeting of the University of Hartford Philosophy Club as reformed juvenile offender Christen "Murphy" Losey presents her case as a study of the psychology of violence.
To join the meeting online click on the button at the bottom of the page. If you have trouble joining, call Brian Skelly at 413.273.2273.
On Feb. 13, we were once again confronted with another senseless mass shooting, this time one that killed three students at Michigan State University while critically injuring five others and ended in the death of the shooter by self-inflicted wounds.
The MSU shooter was 43 years of age, which is rather old for such a crime, the median age for which ranges from the 20s to the early 30s and has been dropping over the decades, with more and more of them minors. The gender, of course, is almost always male; the rate of mass shootings not involving male shooters hovers around one in fifty.
According to USA Today, as of Aug. 18, 2022, in this country, 2,803 victims had lost their lives in 537 mass killings since 2006, most of these in private residences in which the victim knew the assailant, with most of those killed being minors. Surprisingly, more than 27% of these killings were carried out without the use of a gun.
Sometimes, in response to news that perpetrators of violence end their own lives, as they commonly do either immediately or later on, we hear the response that such is a good thing since we longer have to attend to the perpetrator and instead may focus all our attention on the victims. But perhaps we really need to do a deeper study of these violent offenders who lash out suddenly with so little regard for human life, either intending to destroy it or not caring whether they do.
Today we have the opportunity to speak with a reformed juvenile violent offender from the not-so-distant past, one who bucks the trends in multiple ways but who now generously offers up her case for our examination and reflection. Christen “Murphy” Losey was 10 when she attempted to set her school on fire in Cincinnati, Ohio on Feb. 23, 1999, and since then has undergone a long period of reform and repentance. Lucky for her, no one died or was even injured in her assault, a fact for which she claims no credit.
In Murphy’s own words:
I am a reformed and surviving autistic school terrorist of 1999 My act occurred months prior to the Columbine shooting, the unnamed ten-year-old in the news that February. The police report for the event is available on request.
I have been invited to speak with your group on school violence and the mindset of psychopathic profiles. To make sure we can make the most of that hour, I am including a rundown of the most asked questions I receive along with reference material to research prior to my digital visit.
Most asked questions:
Question 1: Were you trying to kill everyone with the fire?
I was 10 years old, In autistic psychosis… Yes … No… but mostly yes.
Question 2: Do you feel bad about it?
Yes.
Question 3: Do you think mass violence would be solved by better gun control?
No. A significant proportion of such violence involves no guns. I never had a gun. I had a lighter.
Question 4: Do you believe that people that commit these crimes can or will be reformed like yourself?
It’s complicated. The psychopathic profile in general has less than a 3% recovery rate when identified in childhood.
Question 5: Are people with autism dangerous?
No. A majority are more likely to be victims. But a small percentage of autistic people exhibit autistic criminal psychopathic profiles and this is where we see the crossover with school shootings. Jeffrey Dahmer and Eric Harris are in the autistic criminal psychopathic profile.
Related talking points:
- Autistic psychopathy
- Psychopathic profile
- Crossovers of school terrorism and Autism
- ASPD: antisocial personality disorder
- NPD: narcissistic personality disorder
- Psychosis (long and short term)
- Average school violence in America vs. around the globe
- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's psychoanalysis
- Grey matter in psychopathic profile brain
- Grey matter in a brain with autism
- Brain damage and psychopathy
An ongoing weekly tradition at the University since 2001, the University of Hartford Philosophy Club is a place where students, professors, and people from the community at large meet as peers. Sometimes presentations are given, followed by discussion. Other times, topics are hashed out by the whole group. Presenters may be students, professors, or people from the community. Anyone can offer to present a topic. The mode of presentation may be as formal or informal as the presenter chooses.
Please be a part of us as we continue this great tradition both in the classroom and online! For more information, please contact Brian Skelly at bskelly@hartford.edu.