How do evil people think

Bush denounced the September 11 terrorists as evildoers, many people rolled their eyes and dismissed his claim as simple-minded and out-of-date. The philosopher Phillip Cole , the psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and the historian Inga Clendinnen have suggested that we ought to drop the concept of evil. These thinkers are not sceptical about morality as a whole. Their scepticism is focused on the category of evil in particular.

Are they right to say that there is no such thing as evil? In answering this question we must survey the claims people make about evil, and ask what these people take evil to be. We might say the sadistic torture carried out by members of the US military at Abu Ghraib was not merely wrong but evil, and that serial killers such as Dennis Rader and Ted Bundy are not merely morally flawed or corrupt, but are evil.

Hannah Arendt famously declared that the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann revealed the banality of evil. While there is some disagreement about what Arendt meant by this, no-one thinks she was suggesting that Eichmann was possessed by a banal demon.

In judging that something is evil, we are making a distinctive kind of moral judgement, rather than committing ourselves to a contentious supernaturalistic worldview. Believing in the reality of evil is like believing in the reality of greed. If so, further work might suggest ways to screen out the dark personalities at recruitment. In some situations, ruthlessness may be necessary. After all, the dark personalities often have the impulse and the confidence to get things done —even Mother Theresa apparently had a steely side , he says.

All of which underlines the false dichotomy of good and evil that Paulhus has been keen to probe. In a sense, that is a personal as much as a professional question. He admits to seeing a dark streak in his own behaviour: for example, he enjoys watching violent, painful sports like Mixed Martial Arts.

In Depth Psychology. Psychology: the man who studies everyday evil. Share using Email. By David Robson 30th January Why are some people extraordinarily selfish, manipulative, and unkind? It is sometimes worth a little suffering on my part to see others receive the punishment they deserve.

To learn more, check out the new paper here. More information about the dark factor can also be found on the site established by the psychologists. Paul Ratner. Share New theory of dark personality reveals the 9 traits of the evil people in your life on Twitter. Share New theory of dark personality reveals the 9 traits of the evil people in your life on LinkedIn.

What is the D-factor? But even though on the surface they may seem vastly different, they have more in common than most would think. September 27, pm. Share This Article.