A synopsis of Evil and a request

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Arthur

Book: (Dr. Julia Shaw) Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side (2019)

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.”

- Rumi

From the cover: “Dr. Julia Shaw is a senior lecturer in criminology and psychology at University College London. Born in Germany and raised in Canada, she has an MS in psychology and law and a PhD in psychology from the University of British Columbia.”

“I firmly believe,” the author writes, “that in order to understand difficult issues, we must talk about them. The issues that make us uncomfortable are often those we need to address most. Ignoring problems does not make them go away.”

The theme of this book could be stated as follows: We think of “evil” as a problem that’s “out there,” when in fact it’s inside us. If we want to understand the hideous things that human beings have often done, then we must recognize that this behaviour, this history, arises from who we are as humans. A glaringly obvious illustration of this is the ongoing horror of war. For the propagandist and the naïve public, the enemy is evil, and we are good. Many of us have successfully repressed our unsavory human inclinations and think that they don’t exist. This book can help the reader get past that illusion.

In Chapter 1, we come face to face with our own inner sadist. Dr. Shaw introduces us to a study published in 2013. Volunteers choose one of four difficult tasks (kill bugs; be the assistant to the killer of bugs; clean toilets; or work in an extremely cold environment). If you chose to be a killer, you’d be presented with three cups, each containing a live bug and labelled with the name of the bug to be killed. Their names were Muffin, Ike, and Tootsie. You are to kill Muffin, Ike, and Tootsie one at a time using a bug-crunching machine, which makes a grinding noise as it brings the lives of each of the victims to an end. No anesthetic will be used; they are to be crushed alive. More than one out of four of the participants chose to kill the bugs (26.8%).

Two mental processes have been described that are associated with wrongdoing, deindividuation and dehumanisation. With deindividuation we perceive ourselves as anonymous; with dehumanisation we stop seeing others as human beings (from a 2011 paper by Martin Reimann and Philip Zimbardo, “The Dark Side of Social Encounters”).

Chapter 2 (about murder) begins with “We love killing. Which is great, because we need to kill to survive.” Our species would never have evolved had we not been willing to kill. The statistics on murder she presents are sometimes surprising. For example, the per capita murder rate in the western hemisphere is five to ten times higher than in other parts of the world; and the United States has by far the most serial killers per capita of anywhere on the planet.

Perhaps less surprising is her statement that 95% of murderers and 79% of victims are male. Is it testosterone? The answer is not so simple. Behaviour affects testosterone levels which then affect behaviour. After a pro tennis match, for example, the winner will have higher testosterone levels than the loser.

When we’re faced with a decision that involves killing human beings, what goes through our minds? Trolleyology can help answer that. In a thought experiment, volunteers are asked to make a decision: A trolley car is careening down a track out of control. A madman has tied five people to the track ahead of the trolley car. You can save their lives simply by flipping a switch which diverts the car to another track. Unfortunately, one person is also tied to that track. If you flip the switch, you will cause that person’s death. Would you do it? Most people say yes (because they save five while sacrificing one). What if it’s your own child on the other track? Most people say no.

In Chapter 3, on what human physical characteristics and behaviour we take to indicate a person is trustworthy or “creepy” (untrustworthy), you will not be surprised to learn that what makes us think a movie character is trustworthy or creepy is not very reliable in real life.

Modern technology often brings out our dark side. Chapter 4, on how technology changes us, examines some of this aspect of social behaviour. In concluding that chapter, Dr. Shaw advises us “If you aren’t an asshole offline, don’t be one online,” and provides two specific instructions to help you follow that advice.

Kinky sexual inclinations are commonplace, and Chapter 5 provides good evidence of that. Perhaps you’ve had deviant fantasies yourself. If anyone finds out, should you be arrested and charged with a crime? Gilberto Valle, a New York Police Department officer, posted sexual fantasies under the username “Girlmeat hunter.” “His stories …[included] gang rape, dismemberment and cannibalism.” He never carried out such actions, yet in October 2013 he was convicted of a “kidnapping conspiracy for allegedly planning to abduct and eat his wife and …other women.” The conviction was overturned in a December 2015 court of appeal due to lack of evidence that he had any plans to turn his fantasies into reality. In a landmark ruling, the judge emphasized the danger of giving the government power to criminalize our thoughts.

The influence of authority figures and of groupthink; the bystander effect; the trauma (and familiarity with handling human remains) that can lead to murderously repulsive behaviour (remember Jeffrey Dahmer?); why pedophilia exists and how to thwart our own urges; and the astonishingly toxic effects that a culture or a society can have (think of the misogyny that you see in our own culture) – all these are brought into focus. Dr. Shaw also mentions criticisms of some of the famous studies, such as the Stanford prison experiment and the study of deference to authority by Stanley Milgram. I’ll emphasize that readers should always be both open-minded and skeptical. In these synopses for example I largely omit critical commentary on the book, so caveat lector.

Silence is complicity. Dr. Shaw’s concluding chapter is about saying nothing. Joseph Goebbels was Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda. In 2016, at the age of 105, his former secretary observed: “Those people nowadays who say they would have stood up against the Nazis – I believe they are sincere …but believe me, most of them wouldn’t have.” Martin Niemőller was a Protestant Pastor. An antisemitic supporter of Hitler until about 1933, he later became an outspoken critic and is responsible for an unforgettable wake-up call:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

Here is Dr. Shaw’s challenge for us: “I challenge you to go through life without resorting to calling actions or people evil. Instead, to truly try to break down human atrocities, and the people who commit them, into their individual parts. Examine each part carefully, like a detective. You are looking for clues as to why it happened and, perhaps, what useful information you can glean that might help you prevent it from happening in the future.”

The book closes with another quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: “Of all evil I deem you capable; therefore, I want good from you.” (Thus Spake Zarathustra)