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"EVIL: INSIDE HUMAN VIOLENCE & CRUELTY" (ROY BAUMEISTER).
Term Paper ID:24613
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Essay Subject:
Critical review of work on four root causes of human evil.... More...
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5 Pages / 1125 Words
1 sources, 9 Citations,
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Paper Abstract:
Critical review of work on four root causes of human evil.
Paper Introduction:
Evil is in the eye of the beholder. Roy Baumeister makes a convincing case for this assertion in his book, "Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty." Baumeister also debunks the popular myth of evil perpetuated by the media in its coverage of random acts of violence, i.e., violence is often committed by crazed, blood-thirsty individuals. Almost any person is capable of evil if sufficient self control is not exercised.
Baumeister defines evil in its broadest sense. He restricts his analysis to acts of evil perpetrated by human beings. Since the most common manifestation of evil is violence, the author makes this the focal point of his study, but also considers various other forms, such as oppression and petty cruelty.
One of the problems with studying evil is that a magnitude gap exists between the perpetrator of evil and the victim. As
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One of his main theories on the root cause of violence is thathigh self-esteem is a factor. (1997). One critique of Baumeister's book is that he fails to provide an in-depth discussion of gender differences in the commission of acts ofviolence. The career criminaldesires quick economic gains, even though these short-term means ofsecuring money are balanced by the high risk of the criminal occupation. According to Baumeister, there are four root causes of evil. He restricts hisanalysis to acts of evil perpetrated by human beings. Roy Baumeister makes aconvincing case for this assertion in his book, "Evil: Inside HumanViolence and Cruelty." Baumeister also debunks the popular myth of evilperpetuated by the media in its coverage of random acts of violence, i.e.,violence is often committed by crazed, blood-thirsty individuals. Some perpetrators claim to have acted under irresistible urges,others blame substance abuse, still others attribute their actions toeconomic necessity. Third, the victims are usually good,innocent people. And ninth, evil charactershave problems with the control of their negative emotions. References Baumeister, R. Baumeister notes that normally passive boystake great pleasure in this activity, but the girls rarely participatebecause they see no point in such nonsense (p. Peoplewith low self-esteem tend to blame themselves for their problems whilepeople with high self-esteem tend to blame others. 62). Building the perfect society, in the distorted Nazi psyche, meantweeding out undesirables (Jews and homosexuals) through atrocious methods. After reading the book, however, I began to detectinstances in my personal experience and that of acquaintances that lentcredence to Baumeister's theories. A myth of "pure evil" exists in society. This contention is sometimesmade by rapists, who theorize that their victims actually enjoyed the rape,when surveys of rape victims verify that this is rarely if ever the case.Another example is the murderer who ameliorates his or her actions byclaiming that the act was mercifully swift and the victim never knew it wascoming. Baumeistercontends that, contrary to most current psychological theory, perpetratorsof violence do not suffer from low self-esteem: "If low self-esteem causesviolence, then one would expect that large groups or categories of peoplewho have low self-esteem would also show high rates of violence" (1997, p.136). As Baumeister puts it,"Victims tend to see things in stark, absolute categories of right andwrong; perpetrators see a large gray area" (1997, p. Baumeister defines evil in its broadest sense. 239). I suspect that socialization has a great deal to dowith this discrepancy. The averageperpetrator feels that his or her violent acts were at least partiallyjustified. I also recalled snatches frominterviews of mass murderers like John Wayne Gacy or The Unabomber in whichthese individuals voiced many of the emotions of typical perpetratorsdescribed by Baumeister. Fourth, evil involves an "us" against "them" conflict.Fifth, evil is eternal and perpetual. Evil is in the eye of the beholder. He states that "men have somewhat higherself-esteem than women" but that "men commit the majority of crimes and thevast majority (around 9 percent) of violent crimes" (Baumeister, 1997, p.137). 1 2). Baumeister's book is well-written and thought-provoking. Second, perpetrators deriveconsiderable pleasure from evil. As Baumeister states, the low self-esteem theory is commonplaceamong sociologists, psychologists, and criminologists. Many perpetrators of massviolence firmly believe that they are on the side of right and good.Baumeister gives the example of Nazi Germany: "The Nazis were guided by astrong utopian vision: They wanted to build the perfect society" (1997, p.34). Perpetrators also tend to claim that their crimes werenot as bad as the victims portrayed them. For instance, the author describes an activityknown as "car smashing," in which church groups provide youths with an old,used car to demolish at will. These images ofevil are repeated constantly in fiction and film, and glorified in themedia: "The image survives in the eyes of beholders everywhere because itsatisfies several important needs and reassures people about their owngoodness and innocence" (Baumeister, 1997, p. 377). First, evilinvolves the intentional harm done to others. One isthe simple desire for material gain. In reality, it is people with high self-esteem who are most prone toviolence, particularly when a gap exists between how the perpetrator viewshimself or herself and how he or she is viewed by the world. The main contribution of this book to the field of criminology is therefutation of the theory that perpetrators of violence suffer from low self-esteem. My first reaction, in reading the opening chapter of Baumeister'sbook was skepticism, perhaps because I had previously bought into thepopular myth of evil. Although not as common as thethree above-mentioned reasons, some perpetrators take pleasure ininflicting pain and suffering on others. This myth describes the waymost people think of evil, and consists of several components. Based on Baumeister's research, these programscould end up having an effect opposite of what their developers intended.Raising the self-esteem of at-risk youths during recessionary periods, whenthey are likely to be buffeted by economic forces that pose threats totheir egos, could be a recipe for violence. Evil is a complex, gray area that Baumeister helps the reader tounderstand. The California schools have initiated programs to increasestudents' self-esteem, especially those who are at risk of involvement indrugs, gangs, or crime. One wonders how many little girls have ever been so obsessed withgun play that, in the absence of toy guns, they fashioned weapons fromsandwiches. When problems escalatefor the person with high self-esteem, violence erupts as a result oflashing out at others. Since the mostcommon manifestation of evil is violence, the author makes this the focalpoint of his study, but also considers various other forms, such asoppression and petty cruelty. Althoughsome of his theories may be controversial, he bases his contentions onfact. Sixth, evil is a disruption of thenormal pattern of order, peace, and stability. Evil: Inside human cruelty and violence.New York: W.H. 4 ). A second root cause of evil is threatened egotism. Baumeister cautions that violencebased on desire for material gain, threatened egotism, or idealism is oftenmisinterpreted as sadism: "What looks to victims like sadism, such as whenperpetrators laugh among themselves, may be simply insensitivity orcamaraderie" (1997, p. Freeman.----------------------- 7 One of the problems with studying evil is that a magnitude gap existsbetween the perpetrator of evil and the victim. People commit violence when they lackself-control; in the case of the career criminal, this relates to his orher search for material gain. A fourth cause of evil is sadism. School educatorshave even bought into this theory as a means of crime prevention inCalifornia. Almostany person is capable of evil if sufficient self control is not exercised. Thus there appears to be a gap between the "somewhat" higher self-esteem of men and their dominance of violent criminal activity whencompared with women. The author likewisedescribes the experience of a colleague who was dismayed to find his sonsplaying cops-and-robbers with pistols shaped from peanut butter and jellysandwiches, so he relented and gave the boys toy guns (Baumeister, 1997, p.381). A third root cause of evil is idealism. This person commits many different types ofcrimes based on the opportunity that presents itself. Seventh, evil charactersare wildly ambitious and extremely confident. In support ofthis theory, Baumeister points to such world-class perpetrators of violenceand aggression as Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Material gain is condoned in society,but only as a reward for those who are patient enough to make money theacceptable way, by earning it: "The first root of evil is instrumental:It is a resort to objectionable techniques as a way of achieving acceptableends" (Baumeister, 1997, p. A common recipe for violence occurs when such aperson repeatedly encounters people who do not share their own highopinions of themselves. Clearly, no discussion of violence is complete without athorough analysis of gender differences, but Baumeister gives the issueshort shrift.
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