This paper draws on intentionality systems theory to begin a discussion about the relationship between the act of violence and thinking. The context against which the paper is developed is the widespread incidence of violence amongst young male South Africans. With the objective of beginning a discussion about an education which responds to this violence, this paper looks at the experience of a young South African man in Cape Town who is convicted for murder. It uses this young man's experience to understand how individuals manage their subjectivities and come to take conscious control of their own lives. It looks at where thinking is taking place and what it consists of in contexts where violence is immanent.