Moral Combat

Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong

By: Patrick M. Markey PhD, Christopher J. Ferguson PhD

Narrated by: Charles Constant

Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

The media and politicians have been sounding the alarm for years, and with every fresh tragedy involving a young perpetrator comes another flurry of articles about the dangers of violent media. The problem is this: Their fear isn't supported by the evidence. In fact, unlike the video game-trained murder machines depicted in the press, school shooters are actually less likely to be interested in violent games than their peers. In reality, most well-adjusted children and teenagers play violent video games, all without ever exhibiting violent behavior in real life. What's more, spikes in sales of violent games actually correspond to decreased rates of violent crime.

If that surprises you, you're not alone - the national dialogue on games and violence has been hopelessly biased. But that's beginning to change. Scholars are finding that not only are violent games not one of society's great evils, they may even be a force for good.

In Moral Combat, Markey and Ferguson explore how video games - even the bloodiest - can have a positive impact on everything from social skills to stress, and may even make us more morally sensitive.

©2017 Patrick M. Markey, PhD, and Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD (P)2017 Tantor

Do not miss this book!!

I didn’t know what to expect, but I could not have enjoyed this more. I still hear video games demonized today and it was enlightening to hear the actual data and science and was surprised at how discordant it is from what is commonly assumed. The authors are incredible knowledgeable and have managed to make a scientific book engaging and thoroughly entertaining.

Interesting, makes sense and should be studied.

I have studied this topic concerning violent video games and how it affects people and society. I was of the belief that it had more influence until this book. For years I have heard people I admire, primarily LtCol Grossman (ret) talk about the negative side of video games and how they teach our kids to kill. Last year I began to question his opinions/facts and now this book has pulled me more to the middle... More of a common sense approach which is detailed in the last chapter.

With so many opinions out there I look at Moral Combat as one of the few fact based resources. I can't thank the authors enough for putting together an easy to understand book.

A sensationalist review of sensationalism

Too biased to be taken seriously. The author’s points could be true, but there is too much bias toward love of the video games. It would be refreshing to see someone else propose a better analysis of violence connected to video games.

Not science; not comedy; not very good

I'm a big fan of the topic and narrator. This, although detailed enough, doesn't seem to have the depth I was looking for. The authors go over a few experiments, but don't go into detail about the studies or findings of them. Because of that, I felt like some of the reasoning was a bit forced and didn't seem believable. I also found the comedic remarks to be a bit campy or just not that funny.