- The Murderer Next Door by Davis M. Buss published May eighteenth two thousand five by Penguin Publishing Group is a well-written academic novel that goes into detail about the reality behind murderous thoughts and where they originate from. Through the book, Buss goes into detail of the nature of having thoughts about murder and the factors in the past centuries that have influenced such thoughts as seen today. Buss starts off his book with an encounter he personally experienced with a friend of his at a party. With the introduction, he explains the details and events which led up to his friend wanting to commit murder. In addition to the information given about biological factors and natural mindsets, Buss also conducted several …show more content…
These questions range from the subject ever wanting to commit murder to the reasons why such thoughts were crossed. The biggest piece of information that relates to criminology in this book is the biological and past factors that influence one’s behavior towards murder.
B. Purpose
- As the reader goes through the journey the book provides, he or she is introduced to the mindset and implications of a murderer. Buss goes into detail on what the murderer is thinking and why they choose to murder. For example, one of the key factors that Buss includes in his writings is that the clear majority of murderers do not commit murder several times and when they do, it is already pre-planned. Aside from serial killers, most murderers kill their victims from a spur of emotion and do not commit murder again. Buss argues that most serial killers are possibly technically insane and do not think things through …show more content…
One of the major conclusions that is provided is the fact that most people, even today, consider murdering an individual. Although they may not always carry out the act, Buss still argues that these thoughts still come into play in a person’s life at some point in time. Because of the relevance provided from past generations and the natural mindset of individuals, I personally do believe in this claim. At some time in a person’s life they will get angry at someone and have violent thoughts about the individual. Today, a good portion of thoughts about murder may be influenced by groups such as gangs or just peers that encourage violence. Also, as a part of the common fight or flight scenario, some people may lean towards the response of a threat that results in violent behavior where they fight for their lives. And although it isn’t intentional, society today still considers that response as murder even though it can be justified as self-defense. So, for many people who experience anger, or even rage, I do believe in this claim. The other conclusion provided by Buss was the influences of biological factors. From looking back at historical events, biblical events, and events conducted by animals like our closest cousin, I also believe in this claim of murder being a natural response. Provided in the book, Buss, as mentioned before, used the examples of killing to proceed in mating behaviors.