Approximately 3,000 innocent victims died in the 9-11 attacks. As of early 2011, some where between 900,000 to over a million soldiers and civilians have died in Afghanistan and Iraq due to the war. This is excessive. This is no longer revenge. This is senseless brutality. On one reading, Pope Benedict XVI kept his knowledge of pedophilic priests quiet and confidential in order to forgive them and protect the church. But this seemingly benign desire led to a disaster, one that was foreseeable: continued sexual assault on thousands of innocent children and for many, a loss of trust in the church and their moral and spiritual leader. Discoveries by molecular biologists, neuroscientists, and psychologists reveal important individual differences in our capacity to fuel desire, differences that constrain the paths we take from birth until our last breath. Some individuals are more risk-prone, some are impatient, and some gain a greater hit of dopamine in anticipation of reward, thereby doping themselves on the brain’s pharmaceutical offerings. Some are born with a set of genes that diminish the capacity for self-control. These individuals start with lower levels of serotonin. These individuals, if raised by abusive parents, have a higher probability of taking someone’s head off if they are challenged. Some individuals are born with low stress levels. These individuals are more likely to be sensation-seekers, voracious desirers who will stop at nothing less than the spectacular, even if this means the spectacularly violent. None of these biological catalysts operate in a vacuum. All of these biological catalysts feed off of particular environments that we create. Geological and climatic factors create savannahs, oceans, and mountains. We create slums, refugee camps, and totalitarian regimes. We are responsible for creating toxic environments and equally responsible for cleaning them up. How we think about individual responsibility in cases of brain damage, developmental