More Timely Than Ever!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Why?

Why did Cho Seung Hui kill all those people at Virginia Tech? Everyone is asking this. When I hear such a question, I sense that people want an expert to give a scientific cause-and-effect answer. Then I'm reminded of Thomas Szasz's insightful aphorism: There is no psychology. There is only biography and autobiography.

Actions have reasons not causes.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps his antidepressants are the link. See this site for more info: http://www.drugawareness.org/home.html
(Michael Moore notwithstanding ...)

Anonymous said...

michael g,

you totally miss sheldon's point. anti-depressants cannot cause anyone to commit murder.

Sheldon Richman said...

Why do some people on antidepressants kill others or themselves, while other people on them do neither?

Anonymous said...

All I know is that my good friends lost their 17 year old son to suicide, Christmas Eve, 2005. His personality completely changed while he was on antidepressants, and finally couldn't deal with the changes.

Now, the manufacturer states that children under 18 should not take their antidepressant due to the possibility of suicide. Before, they didn't state such a thing. Hmmm...

Sheldon Richman said...

I recommend this article to anyone who is looking for a "scientific" explanation.