Torturers, Nature vs. Nurture

Introduction

Evil comes in many shapes and forms. Whether, it is dictators responsible for horrible genocides, prison guards in Abu Ghraib, or two young, English boys brutally murdering the two-year-old, James Bulger. When exposed to such evil, we are shocked and sickened, but perhaps most of all, fascinated. How is it possible for people to go through with these atrocities? We might then distance ourselves from the evildoers, and claim that we could never act in such a way. Is it only the sociopaths and the bad apples that commit evil deeds? Are they only the exceptions, and not the majority? Or is everyone capable of carrying out evil deeds?

Discussion

There is no one definition of evil, it is a broad term. In Lars Fr. H. Svendsen's book, The Philosophy of Evil, the author argues that trying to find one definition of evil is not fruitful, because it limits our understanding of the phenomena evil (Svendsen, pp. 255). He continues by proposing four different kinds of evil; the demonic, the instrumental, the idealistic and the ignorant form of evil. The demonic evil is the form of evil one thinks of first: It is evil for evil's sake. However, this evil is nowhere to be found in reality, only in fiction. Svendsen clarifies this in close detail in his book, and finds that there is always other motive that causes the perpetrator to act. Therefore, when I mention it, it is only to emphasize his point; that it is only an idea, and does not exist in reality. The second form of evil, the instrumental one, is where evil is used as a mean to reach a goal. “The end justifies the mean”, is another way of describing it. This second form of evil is closely linked to the third kind of evil. This is the idealistic form, which is evil committed in the belief that it is good. Clear examples of the idealistic form of evil can be terrorism and persecutions. Furthermore, religion is noteworthy in this context, as was shown on 9/11. There are innumerable crimes committed in the name of God, such as sacrificing human life to appease gods. Other examples are the Inquisition, witch hunts and persecutions of religious minorities. Evil in the name of religion can be good examples of both instrumental and ideological evil. Firstly, it is instrumental because they are committed for a higher purpose, which is pleasing God or acting according to his wishes. Secondly, it is a good example of ideological evil, because they act in the belief that they are removing evil from the world, or adding goodness. The last category is the ignorant form of evil; the evil committed because the perpetrator either does not reflect on the consequences of his or hers actions, or fails to realize the consequences. Moreover, it will systemize my search for reasons why people commit evil deeds.

Individual Evil People Are Essentially Good or Evil

The conception that some people are ...