On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

Grossman seeks to analyze the process of killing, specifically in war and to probe the psychological and sociological impact on those who kill in combat. He offers insight into the innate resistance toward killing a member of one’s own species, the role of atrocity in war, the stages of response to killing in combat, the plight of the American soldier who served in Vietnam, and the ways that violence in the media and interactive video games are conditioning children to kill.

Up until a few generations ago, people were exposed to death and killing routinely. Animals were slaughtered openly, and corpses were prepared for burial by loved ones, for example. In the late 20th century, killing has been repressed much like sex was in the Victorian era. As a result, there is a “pathological dichotomy of simultaneous repression and obsession with violence” (xxx).

Grossman wants to bring this taboo subject into the light of day. A soldier for 24 years, Grossman served as an Army Ranger and as a counsellor. While he never killed anyone in combat, he has respect for those who have killed in lawful combat and does not judge those who refrained from doing so.