I was reading an archived post from the Amarna Forum (https://archive.amarna-forum.net/amarna1/threads/adam_lanza.jpg) in which the author repudiated the media narrative of school shooters being voracious, mindless and inhuman beasts bent on murder due to the sole fact they are soulless beings whose physical constitution consists solely of wickedness (and that they're far-right white supremacist incel males, of course), instead presenting a multifaceted and more nuanced view. The author emphasises the role of philosophy, likening the Sandy Hook shooting to the Leopold and Loeb case (the basis of the great Hitchcock Rope which you should watch btw). This spurred my mind into action as I thought of Raskolnikov's motivation for murder in Crime & Punishment and how he believed that he was an übermensch, a being with superior moral conviction such that he might cross moral boundaries to implement his worldview. However, as a blackpilled truecel, someone who has repeatedly faced the primacy of biological law in reality, I am inclined to believing that behaviour is straightforwardly the result of the genetic composition of an organism. Given the ideological justification for the aforementioned examples, how much does ideology factor into mass-shootings, suicide, et cetera, and how much of it is governed by biological and social factors?
I think that the answer is quite simple. It is well known in modernity that philosophy is the rational justification for the unexplainable things that need explaining. It is a cope used to substantiate ideology, religion and personal experiences and desires. I shall outline Lanza's worldview so that we may break it apart:
Adam Lanza's 'cultural philistine' philosophy consists of a derision of culture. Lanza was convinced that culture was perpetuated 'mindlessly' by adults through instilling values like an 'infectious disease' into their progeny, eradicating any incipient notions developing in the children's minds. Lanza was initially of an anarcho-primitivist outlook, that is to say, while rejecting culture and its values, Lanza believed that value was not necessarily an arbitrary thing in its 'feral' and personal/individual form, stripped of the deleterious effects of cultural interlopers. He soon came to the conclusion that the ideal state of life to attain, happiness, was unnecessary as it was the fulfilment of arbitrary cultural value. A corollary to this was his realisation that he had no need for the happiness created by the fulfilment of 'feral values' either, if he were to abolish feral values. He came to believe that culture, and all value, was ultimately derived from life. Thus, fuelled by the apparent contradictions in his worldview, his primitivism resolved itself into nihilism and antinatalism (he termed his philosophy efilism).
It is important to take note of the fact he equates himself, the individual, as feral and equates society to a force which 'rapes' values into people.
And you may ask, as I did, why are his beliefs purely concerned with the values of culture, and not their ideas or concepts? This is because his beliefs were emotionally motivated and were not engendered by logic or rational ruminations .
I am of the opinion Lanza's transition from anarcho-primitivism to 'efilism' was fuelled by an attempt to legitimise the despair associated with the end of adolescence (as a result of the settling of his integration into society). It makes sense that earlier in his development, he was inclined to believe he still had a position in society that he would be comfortable with. The wish to return to a world reminiscent of his childhood, where restraints had not yet been placed on his neurodiversity (Adam had Aspergers and OCD), would offer the perfect opportunity for Lanza to successfully integrate into a society.
Adam Lanza once uploaded a video referencing a chimp who was forced to dress in human clothes, use the toilet and otherwise act like a human. This chimp, named Travis, one day, seemingly for no reason at all, attacked his owners' friend, tearing off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids. Lanza ostensibly used this to metaphorically demonstrate the stress culture inflicts on us by 'raping' us with its values and suppressing our primal nature. Yet it also gives us an insight into the murky waters of Adam's psyche. Lanza saw himself similarly, and arbitrarily, oppressively pressured into a societal framework that denied himself his own convictions and behaviours (which he compresses into 'values' in his philosophy).
The shift into a fatalistic ideology began when Lanza matured to a point he began to see the flaws in his autistic fantasy of regression (a fantasy similar to Chris Chan's, another notorious autist), the hypocrisy of his initial homebrewed anarcho-primitivism and his growing sense of disenfranchisement in society. However, his autism would continue to play a role in his motivation for the massacre, particularly his lack of theory of mind and his discomfort with social interactions (which led him to withdraw to his room and nearly completely isolate himself after his graduation from high school). His autistic solipsism and internalisation would ultimately be the some of the main driving factors for why he perpetrated the massacre. Lanza, at least to some degree, believed he was saving the children from a life of disenfranchisement and subjugation by adults. While he was clearly capable of rationally grasping other people's mental states, as his recordings show him as an intelligent man with the ability to create coherent and rational ideas, I nevertheless believe that he could not fathom on an intrinsic level that not all children are incapable of being integrated into society, and that not all children live as miserable lives as he did. Take these words for example: 'The problem is not that I seek meaning and cannot find it. The problem is that I do feel immense meaning, and so does everyone else who is alive. Meaning is an abstract interpretation of value which exists only because of life.' This excerpt suggests that while he does feel 'immense meaning', he is incapable of being fully able to emotionally process it without resorting to intellectualisation. His inability to fully comprehend his own emotional state raises doubt as to whether he could fully empathise with others and understand their experiences.
He chose Sandy Hook Elementary for his final stand as that was where his malintegration into society was most conspicuous and emotional for him, and Lanza, having internalised it into his identity, believed the children were being brainwashed by 'culture' into a life of living a painful, false identity there as well. Additionally, the impetus for Sandy Hook happening when it did, and what finally made Lanza snap, appears to be his mother's intent to have Adam move homes. Autistic people have a great affinity for rigidity and are heavily affected by sensory factors (Adam Lanza was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder). Breaking an autist's self-withdrawal/hyperfocus typically results in some degree of aggression; the notion of moving homes would have been greatly distressing for him and likely was the final nail in the coffin for the occurrence of the events of the 14th of December, 2014.
As such, Lanza committed the shooting in that precise fashion to meet his internal desires, which culminated in a desire for fatality. Perhaps the media was not wrong in labelling him a lunatic, for his ideology seems to simply be a rationalised extension of the traits and desires that he had in life. The philosophical propositions Lanza espoused had no effect on his decision to engage in destructive actions other than serving as a structured and sound appendage of his desires to induce action or cope with his existence. This was particularly important for him as he was disconnected from his emotions. Perhaps the media was right, as I do not believe his life could have gone another way. In that sense, perhaps he is evil. On a broader scale, I conclude that biological truths have the final say in whether individuals participate in fatal behaviour. This is expressly the case in lone behaviours such as suicides or school shooters with perpetrators who suffer from profound dysgenicity that render them unable to be integrated into a society. With attacks committed by religious/political extremists who are explicitly linked to larger organisations, however, such as the men behind 9/11 or the attacks on the Bataclan theatre, it is ultimately a different situation, though ultimately brought about by biological realities.
I think that the answer is quite simple. It is well known in modernity that philosophy is the rational justification for the unexplainable things that need explaining. It is a cope used to substantiate ideology, religion and personal experiences and desires. I shall outline Lanza's worldview so that we may break it apart:
Adam Lanza's 'cultural philistine' philosophy consists of a derision of culture. Lanza was convinced that culture was perpetuated 'mindlessly' by adults through instilling values like an 'infectious disease' into their progeny, eradicating any incipient notions developing in the children's minds. Lanza was initially of an anarcho-primitivist outlook, that is to say, while rejecting culture and its values, Lanza believed that value was not necessarily an arbitrary thing in its 'feral' and personal/individual form, stripped of the deleterious effects of cultural interlopers. He soon came to the conclusion that the ideal state of life to attain, happiness, was unnecessary as it was the fulfilment of arbitrary cultural value. A corollary to this was his realisation that he had no need for the happiness created by the fulfilment of 'feral values' either, if he were to abolish feral values. He came to believe that culture, and all value, was ultimately derived from life. Thus, fuelled by the apparent contradictions in his worldview, his primitivism resolved itself into nihilism and antinatalism (he termed his philosophy efilism).
It is important to take note of the fact he equates himself, the individual, as feral and equates society to a force which 'rapes' values into people.
And you may ask, as I did, why are his beliefs purely concerned with the values of culture, and not their ideas or concepts? This is because his beliefs were emotionally motivated and were not engendered by logic or rational ruminations .
I am of the opinion Lanza's transition from anarcho-primitivism to 'efilism' was fuelled by an attempt to legitimise the despair associated with the end of adolescence (as a result of the settling of his integration into society). It makes sense that earlier in his development, he was inclined to believe he still had a position in society that he would be comfortable with. The wish to return to a world reminiscent of his childhood, where restraints had not yet been placed on his neurodiversity (Adam had Aspergers and OCD), would offer the perfect opportunity for Lanza to successfully integrate into a society.
Adam Lanza once uploaded a video referencing a chimp who was forced to dress in human clothes, use the toilet and otherwise act like a human. This chimp, named Travis, one day, seemingly for no reason at all, attacked his owners' friend, tearing off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids. Lanza ostensibly used this to metaphorically demonstrate the stress culture inflicts on us by 'raping' us with its values and suppressing our primal nature. Yet it also gives us an insight into the murky waters of Adam's psyche. Lanza saw himself similarly, and arbitrarily, oppressively pressured into a societal framework that denied himself his own convictions and behaviours (which he compresses into 'values' in his philosophy).
The shift into a fatalistic ideology began when Lanza matured to a point he began to see the flaws in his autistic fantasy of regression (a fantasy similar to Chris Chan's, another notorious autist), the hypocrisy of his initial homebrewed anarcho-primitivism and his growing sense of disenfranchisement in society. However, his autism would continue to play a role in his motivation for the massacre, particularly his lack of theory of mind and his discomfort with social interactions (which led him to withdraw to his room and nearly completely isolate himself after his graduation from high school). His autistic solipsism and internalisation would ultimately be the some of the main driving factors for why he perpetrated the massacre. Lanza, at least to some degree, believed he was saving the children from a life of disenfranchisement and subjugation by adults. While he was clearly capable of rationally grasping other people's mental states, as his recordings show him as an intelligent man with the ability to create coherent and rational ideas, I nevertheless believe that he could not fathom on an intrinsic level that not all children are incapable of being integrated into society, and that not all children live as miserable lives as he did. Take these words for example: 'The problem is not that I seek meaning and cannot find it. The problem is that I do feel immense meaning, and so does everyone else who is alive. Meaning is an abstract interpretation of value which exists only because of life.' This excerpt suggests that while he does feel 'immense meaning', he is incapable of being fully able to emotionally process it without resorting to intellectualisation. His inability to fully comprehend his own emotional state raises doubt as to whether he could fully empathise with others and understand their experiences.
He chose Sandy Hook Elementary for his final stand as that was where his malintegration into society was most conspicuous and emotional for him, and Lanza, having internalised it into his identity, believed the children were being brainwashed by 'culture' into a life of living a painful, false identity there as well. Additionally, the impetus for Sandy Hook happening when it did, and what finally made Lanza snap, appears to be his mother's intent to have Adam move homes. Autistic people have a great affinity for rigidity and are heavily affected by sensory factors (Adam Lanza was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder). Breaking an autist's self-withdrawal/hyperfocus typically results in some degree of aggression; the notion of moving homes would have been greatly distressing for him and likely was the final nail in the coffin for the occurrence of the events of the 14th of December, 2014.
As such, Lanza committed the shooting in that precise fashion to meet his internal desires, which culminated in a desire for fatality. Perhaps the media was not wrong in labelling him a lunatic, for his ideology seems to simply be a rationalised extension of the traits and desires that he had in life. The philosophical propositions Lanza espoused had no effect on his decision to engage in destructive actions other than serving as a structured and sound appendage of his desires to induce action or cope with his existence. This was particularly important for him as he was disconnected from his emotions. Perhaps the media was right, as I do not believe his life could have gone another way. In that sense, perhaps he is evil. On a broader scale, I conclude that biological truths have the final say in whether individuals participate in fatal behaviour. This is expressly the case in lone behaviours such as suicides or school shooters with perpetrators who suffer from profound dysgenicity that render them unable to be integrated into a society. With attacks committed by religious/political extremists who are explicitly linked to larger organisations, however, such as the men behind 9/11 or the attacks on the Bataclan theatre, it is ultimately a different situation, though ultimately brought about by biological realities.
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