On Killing
The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
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Dave Grossman examines the psychological resistance to killing, the military conditioning used to overcome it, and the consequences for soldiers and civilian society.
This book extends the collection’s questions about human nature and collective behavior into the psychology of violence, training, and the costs of conflict.
Why I include it
On Killing belongs in the guide for its difficult questions about human nature, training, group pressure, and the psychological costs of violence. Read it critically alongside The True Believer and The Art of War to compare how individual behavior, institutions, and conflict shape one another.
