"An FBI study of thirty-five serial killers [killers of several people, not all at once] revealed that twenty-nine were attracted to pornography and incorporated it into their sexual activity, which included serial rape and murder." This assertion, taken from an antipornography ad, seems to have been intended to show that pornography is a causal factor of serial rape and murder. Does it show that?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An essay on this question should demonstrate sensitivity to the following points: The assertion about the FBI study would support the causal claim in question only if the frequency of attraction to pornography in the "experimental group" cited above were known to exceed significantly the frequency in a "control group" of people who had not committed serial rape and murder. Further, that condition, while necessary for the FBI study to support the causal claim in question, would not be sufficient. Were the subjects in the "experimental group" different from the control group and the rest of us in some relevant way other than that they were murderers? Almost certainly. Were these biasing differences controlled? The essay should perhaps consider directly the question of whether the attraction to pornography and the propensity for sexual violence were both the result of some other factor or factors. It might also indicate the vagueness of the phrase "attracted to pornography."