A STUDY OF EVIL

In addressing the subject of evil, the first sign of danger is the instability encountered in finding a definition, or a safe taxological harbor in which to drop anchor. Some even describe evil as simply the absence of good. Some classify it as a supernatural force over which the individual may have, according to creeds and shibboleths, a limited or even definable degree of control. Some go further and talk of “pure evil,” for which there exists the acronym BFE.[i] Thus we find individuals from comedians to supreme court justices (at the risk of repeating myself) who blame civilization’s miseries on dark forces: Beelzebub, Satan, the Dark One, or a society’s demon du jour.

Others don’t accept BFE and its reliance on extraordinary, or even paranormal, forces. They assign it to ordinary, if certainly complex, psychological causes. Hannah Arendt, in her work Eichmann in Jerusalem, even used the word “banal” to describe a subject on trial for his part in effectuating one of the most monstrous events in human history. From all accounts, Adolph Eichmann played the part well during his trial.

If intended, it didn’t work. Nonetheless, the “I was only following orders,” explanation for evil acts deserves its own library so we shall damn it with scant attention herein.

In rejecting the BFE thesis, we are left to pursue what Piercardo Valdosco described as persons exhibiting evil as “a product solely of their essence, their soul, as opposed to a more complicated combination of environmental and individual forces.”[ii]

Hence comes the first limitation in my admittedly amateurish look at the subject of evil. We shall analyze it in detail, but the emphasis, the final denouement so to speak, will be the multi-faceted look at how ordinary and decent people commit evil deeds, aid and abet evil deeds, countenance evil deeds, or simply approve evil deeds with silence.

In a personal and anecdotal sense, I’m aiming to find some explanation for the fact that we find former upstanding members of society now openly supporting a movement populated by neo-Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan, the situationally ethical, racial, social, and sexual bigots, and those who espouse the killing of other Americans for less than heinous activities of which they don’t approve. It won’t be an easy journey. Fasten your seat belts.

Adolph Eichmann
Banal, Oder Nicht Banal? 

 

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[i] Valdesco, Piercarlo, “The psychological Power of Satan.” Scientific American Sepemeber 29,2013

[ii] Piercalo, op cit