Are we all capable of evil acts or is the idea of evil an antiquated notion that has been disproven by science? This is an important question with ramifications well beyond the existential world of philosophy. If we can say through science that “evil” is a word describing only a set of brain functions then we can dismiss its effects on people and society. But if evil is real then we must work to control it and curb its effects lest we destroy our society.
An article in Slate Magazine discusses the growing trend of pop-sci books on neurological research that degrade the notion of evil. Researchers studying such things examine brain scans to determine what occurs when people make particular decisions–in this case empathetic or evil decisions. The conclusion of a growing number of research is that evil decisions are made not because of some inherent tendency toward evil, but because of some kind of brain malfunction.
The article points out that this is a troubling assertion for a number of societal reasons, but beyond the practical it seems like an asinine assumption. To assert that evil is not an inherent trait ignores life experience and plain reality. Although most of us would rather forget our awkward middle school years we can all remember incredibly evil acts perpetrated by fellow students against others. By and large those perpetrators did not grow up to be life-long criminals, proving some sort of brain dysfunction, but generally law-abiding “good” people. They simply perpetrated evil acts as part of the process of learning to control their own behavior.
Further testimony of inherent nature of evil comes from stories of children. Why do two year olds instinctively hit, bite, and kick other kids without reason? Why do they steal things from other kids and shout “mine” all the time? There is an inherent tendency within us all toward evil.
This is not to say that most of us are evil in the sense of Hitler or Stalin, but if we are honest with ourselves we recognize our own tendency to commit and think about committing awful deeds. If we are truly honest with ourselves we know that our own sense of goodness only extends so far as we all harbor dark memories and thoughts. If science can explain away these tendencies then we as a society will fail to grapple with the realities of decisions. In every moment of every day we make decisions to act in certain ways. Without a sense of our tendency toward evil we will be kept from moral behavior guided by a well-trained conscious. And that would lead to anarchy.
