Are Humans Evil?
I am sickened by news of war crimes. I am overloaded with violent images in the media.
Bombardments of Ukraine by Russia have resulted in an airstrike on a maternity ward, cluster bombs at a preschool, and a trench filled with bodies marking one of the first mass graves. Elsewhere in the world are homicides, child abuse, elder abuse, domestic violence, racism, and sexual violence. Some acts of violence are perpetrated by individuals; others are organized, directed, and legitimized by the state. What kind of monsters do this? Are humans wired for violence?
Biologist David Carrier believes that humankind has evolved for violence. His 2015 research showed that a buttressed fist, one with the thumb closed against the index and middle fingers, provides a safer way to hit someone with force. Given that none of our primate cousins can make such a fist, Carrier and his co-authors propose that our hand proportions may have evolved specifically to turn our hands into more effective weapons. Critic Alisse Waterston, president of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), and a cultural anthropologist, wrote, “A major takeaway from the anthropological literature is that humans have the potential, which is different from the tendency, to be violent.”
Studies show that there is no unique murderous personality. Humans don’t have an evil gene. Killers come from various backgrounds, have different psychological attributes, and operate from a variety of motives. But all of us, under certain circumstances, could commit acts of evil.
Social psychology researcher Roy Baumeister wrote “Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty”. He makes the point that the factors driving people to do terrible things to each other are complex. He notes that “Most people who do evil do not think of themselves as doing evil, most of them regard themselves as good people who are trying to defend themselves as the good guys fighting against the forces of evil. There are four major root causes of evil or reasons that people act in ways that others will perceive as evil. Ordinary, well-intentioned people may perform evil acts when under the influence of these factors, singly or in combination.”
The four causes are: the simple desire for material gain, threatened egotism (perpetrators of violence are often highly sensitive to perceived slights), idealism (noble ends are often seen as justifying violent means), and the pursuit of sadistic pleasure (only 5 or 6 percent of perpetrators get enjoyment out of inflicting harm.) Baumeister warns that these 4 causes can be oversimplified. How a person will behave is strongly influenced by genetic predisposition, past experience (especially early childhood experience), socio-economic and cultural factors, the presence of an intact society with prosocial norms, specific interpersonal dynamics between individuals, and the particularities of the immediate circumstances.
People living with a mental illness and receiving effective treatment are no more violent or dangerous than the rest of the population. In fact, they are more likely to harm themselves, or to be harmed, than they are to hurt other people. However, psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia can sometimes be associated with aggressive or violent behavior. People living with schizophrenia are no more violent or dangerous than the rest of the population if they are receiving effective treatment and not misusing alcohol or drugs.
The best way to avoid committing evil acts is to understand that we are capable of them. Why don’t we commit more acts of aggression? We restrain ourselves from lashing out with self-control. The surest way to unleash evil in people is to remove reasons for people to restrain themselves.