Philosophical Investigation, A (1992)
By Phillip Kerr
Biological determinism; Eugenics; Forensic DNA; Gender; Genetic discrimination; Genetic screening; Race
This provocative detective fiction raises troubling issues about gender and racial stereotypes in a society where genetic profiling has become commonplace.
Chief Inspector “Jake” Jacowicz is a member of the Murder Squad, an investigative division of the police department focusing on serial killers. Her assignment to the investigation of serial killers is largely based on her gender; in the first two decades of the 21st century, detection and resolution in homicide investigation have been enhanced by the combination of male and female input. When a serial killer begins to murder London males in execution style, Jake is assigned to the investigation. The only link between victims appears to be their connection to L.O.M.B.R.O.S.O., a government-funded program established to detect innate tendencies toward violent crime. Through the program, men are voluntarily issued PET scans, which detect abnormalities in brain structure. Those men who are determined to be “VMN-negative” (missing a particular portion of the brain) are issued code names and recorded in the Lombroso database, their information only accessible if they are suspects in a violent crime. One man, code-named Wittgenstein, is overwhelmed when he learns that he possesses this tendency toward violent crime, and when he hacks into the computer system to erase his name, he develops a cruel but perversely logical plan to eliminate his fellow VMN-negative “brothers.” As Jake slowly uncovers clues to the crime, she begins to engage in a series of philosophical conversations with Wittgenstein, the most profound of which centers around whether or not his actions are moral.
Kerr’s novel poses the question: would Wittgenstein inevitably become a serial killer simply because he tested VMN-negative? One of the other killers Jake is tracking, the Lipstick Killer, turns out to be “Shakespeare,” a VMN-negative Londoner; this revelation late in the novel seems to support the very philosophy of the Lombroso program. Yet Wittgenstein is triggered by the revelation that he is a potential murderer, the knowledge offering him certain license he lacked prior to testing to commit the murders. The Lombroso Program essentially unleashes the very danger it is attempting to control. Wittgenstein believes his actions to be moral, as he claims to be eliminating potential threats to society. If information garnered on individuals points to violent tendencies, does the government have an obligation to monitor or eliminate these individuals, or to notify the community of these potential threats? The idea of testing for VMN-negative men addresses another major issue in the novel, the innate differences between male and females that appear to transcend environmental influences. Indeed, only men can possess the VMN-negative brain structure which leads to violent behavior, as women with similar brain structures were found to be unaffected by its absence. Furthermore, Jake is considered an asset to her investigative team largely because her sex allows her to think in ways men cannot. Still, Jake begins to wonder at times if she is not developing a “male” mentality, which provokes questions as to how much of gender is an expression of genetics, and how much an issue of environmental influence.
Evaluation: A dazzling array of literary allusions enliven this philosophic investigation into the logic of genetic screening for criminality. The ugly racial and sexual stereotyping that result from the geneticization of society may make the novel hard for some readers to contemplate.
– Natalie Champ