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

There is a known link between distance and the ease of aggression. At the far end of the spectrum are bombing and artillery with the least resistance to killing. At the near end, resistance to killing becomes more intense. Killing is almost “unthinkable” (98) at the close end of the spectrum, in such cases as stabbing and bayoneting. There is also an emotional and empathic distance that comes into play in the decision to kill.

During World War II, the bombings of Hamburg and Dresden, Germany, were done from thousands of feet in the air. The bombers could not hear the screams of the women and children killed, nor could they see the carnage. They had an emotional distance that allowed for denial.

By contrast, the sack of Babylon in 689 BC involved the stabbings of women and children. In all these cases, innocent populations suffered horrible deaths. Yet there is a tremendous psychological difference. Bombers are “buffered by the all-important factor of distance” (106). They are not considered criminals but are simply engaged in impersonal acts of war.