Evil

Inside Human Violence and Cruelty

Ranked #25 in Forensic Psychology, Ranked #63 in Evil

Why is there evil, and what can scientific research tell us about the origins and persistence of evil behavior? Considering evil from the unusual perspective of the perpetrator, Baumeister asks, How do ordinary people find themselves beating their wives? Murdering rival gang members? Torturing political prisoners? Betraying their colleagues to the secret police? Why do cycles of revenge so often escalate?

Baumeister casts new light on these issues as he examines the gap between the victim's viewpoint and that of the perpetrator, and also the roots of evil behavior, from egotism and...
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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Evil from the world's leading experts.

Steven Pinker AuthorBaumeister reviews the various psychological roots of evil, and what we know about them from social psychology, history and criminology. He argues convincingly that aggression does not come from a single motive in humans, but from a variety of motives, such as practical means-end reasoning, moralistic vengeance, dominance and utopian ideologies. The widespread belief that evil acts come from evil minds is itself an interesting psychological phenomenon. Baumeister argues that the human conception of harmdoing, including violence, depends on whether one takes the viewpoint of the perpetrator or... (Source)

Rabbi Josh Yuter 4. Favorite Book 1: Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty by @RoyFBaumeister. A social psychologist explores how humans perceive the concept of Evil https://t.co/JVpwbtS6pr (Source)


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