Prosecutors, psychologists/psychiatrists, sociologists, clergy, artists and journalists keep providing theories explaining the events of 1969. Those were the brutal murders committed by the Manson family.
Among them is journalist/clinical social worker Nikki Meredith. In 2018, she published "The Mason Women and Me: Monsters, Morality, and Murder."
Over and over again, Meredith admits that she can't understand how mostly middle class females could shift from relatively normal lifestyles to that of the cult-like ways of the Mason family. And commit mass murders without empathy. It is contended that one of those females - Leslie Van Houten - didn't experience understanding of the wrong she had done until five years afterwards.
In her book Meredith presents much research, expert opinion and speculation put out there by diverse sources. Those takes range from the Milgram "shock" experiment to broken mirror neurons. There is also a review of the old-theory theory of "snapping." Similar work has been done and continues to be done to attempt to make sense of the Nazi murders of millions of Jews.
But, as Meredith admits, none of these really does the job of helping society get its head around those man-made horrors or provide effective solutions to prevent them in the future. In 2021, much of the world, including parts of the U.S., seems on fire with cruelty. Much of it is deadly.
Could some of the push-back against science right now reflect the reality that there are mysteries and that they may not be understood, at least for the present time and maybe not ever?
Sure, human beings seem to like their theories. Those folks range from the uneducated residents of the old neighborhood to the university professor lecturing in class.
That illusion of certainity, by an individual or a group, can bring a sense of safety. If they avoid ABC, X won't happen. Yes, that seems like a form of delusion. It could be. Society might need it. However, it could be unjust for authority, be it in the form of a prosecution or a parole board, to use them in decision-making.
The psychiatric term for such a collective wrong assumption is "folie a famille."
Reflection: In one school of zen, the mantra is: Clear thinking, don't know.
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