The Science Of Evil

Many scholars have tried to get closer to what the science of evil entails in an attempt to find the roots that cause evil. Neuroscience has studied the brains of people who do bad things. At the same time, many social psychologists have developed experiments with the same goal.

It seems that people have a real need to know what bad people are hiding and how different they are from the rest of us. That difference is sought tirelessly, even fervently.

Maybe we would like to get these answers so we know what to avoid or so we can convince ourselves that we are different. Perhaps there is some physical factor that defines who is good and who is bad, we would very much like to find it.

Despite the fact that science has found some clues and small structural differences in the brain, we still have no clear answer to what evil entails. It seems that it is not an easy task to distinguish good from evil. Such bad people seem to be more like good people than what we would like to admit.

In this article, we evaluate the possible factors that determine whether a person becomes evil or behaves in a bad way or not. There are many studies related to this issue that are more than 40 years old. It appears that researchers have succeeded in isolating certain factors that condemn individuals to this group. Let’s dive deeper into what the science of evil involves…

Quality of affection

One of the factors that influences the commission of evil deeds seems to be the type of affection that develops in the early stages of life. Examination of adult personality disorders reveals many cases of assault and emotional neglect early in life.

Of course, this alone is not enough to turn anyone into a bad person. However, it appears to be a common factor in many cases. Studies reveal to us that mental assault during childhood is at least an obstacle to developing the ability to care for others.

Even so, this factor does not fully explain why some people are bad and do bad things. There are some really bad people who don’t seem to have been beaten during childhood. Thus, this cannot be the only or exclusive factor.

Biology

British geneticists have found that the presence of the MAOA gene may increase the risk of developing a behavioral disorder. It can also be linked to crime during adolescence or adulthood.

This observation by Avssholm Casp also revealed that this gene is associated with childhood abuse. In other words, we have another example where biology is conditioned by the environment.

Testosterone levels are another biological factor that may have to do with the science of evil. The amount of testosterone to which a baby is exposed while in the womb seems to affect the development of empathy in the human brain.

The science of evil: the dark side of people

The mighty criminologist Julia Shaw recently published her research in a book that focuses on why people are bad or do bad things. Shaw carefully evaluated neuroscience studies of the low level of ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation in the brains of bad people.

This seems to be another factor that suggests what Shaw calls the process of dehumanizing and self-justifying harm done to others. Such anomaly, together with the paranoia and aimless culture promoted by a certain anxiety, can create a person who is willing to do bad things to others.

At the same time, Shaw analyzes what psychologists call the “dark triad”: psychopathy, narcissism, and ruthlessness. He also adds sadism to the trio. This researcher actually makes an exceptional analysis of both types of narcissism.

Julia Shaw concludes that vulnerable narcissists are much more dangerous than pompous narcissists. The former appear to be more susceptible to hostility. Under the right conditions, vulnerable narcissists can act in a very bad way.

They become monsters, not born

If you go through all the sources of literature on what the science of evil exists, you certainly can’t say that some people are born evil. There is no single factor that is in a person from the moment he is born, making him evil.

On the contrary, it seems that evil develops over time. The factors that determine whether a person becomes evil or not appear to be caused by the environment.

The awesome experiments of Philip Zimbardo, Stanley Milgram, and other scientists studying the science of evil show us how easy it was for good people to do bad things. Their experiments revealed how the right conditions can have a profound effect on people and make them behave in a surprising and disturbing way.

In other words, good behavior is often distinguished from bad behavior by the circumstances in which a person is, rather than what he or she does. This knowledge makes us feel compassion for people we judge for their evil deeds. Of course, this is not about justifying evil deeds.

But the science of evil seems to suggest that there are many variables that affect people’s actions. And they are not all personal.

So we don’t seem to be any closer to finding “evil personality disorder”. The goal of mental health professionals should therefore be to prevent this type of behavior. This can perhaps be done by humanizing people who do bad things. Or even understanding the important role that the environment plays in all of this.