Are Humans Inherently Evil?
Photo via Smithsonian Associates
Philosophers and psychologists have long debated the notion of humans being born evil. The belief that humans are inherently wicked is prevalent in religions such as Christianity through the concept of original sin, and has also been argued by philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, who characterized humans as "nasty" and "brutish." Humans are capable of committing heinous and evil acts like rape and genocide. We see terror every day: the recent Robb Elementary School shooting, the Holocaust, and dictators like Pol Pot and Stalin barely scratch the surface of the magnitude of evil acts humans have committed over history. This makes us all wonder: are we humans inherently evil?
Many components affect a person’s behavior. Behavior can be heavily influenced by genetic predispositions, often referred to as the ‘nature’ aspect of evil behavior, which includes anger disorders, mood disorders, and chemical imbalances in the brain. These often result in increased levels of anger and lower levels of self-control. But there are also ‘nurture’ aspects that affect people’s behavior. These include socio-economic and cultural factors, childhood experiences, and exposure to prosocial and altruistic behavior. Ever since we’re young, we’re taught morality and how to differentiate between what is good and what is bad. Both the social and genetic aspects of behavior affect how we act. First, we’ll take a look at the social aspects and factors that influence a person’s behavior, specifically how they can affect antisocial and malicious behavior.
Social psychologists have worked hard to investigate the social factors that are associated with evil acts. The infamous Milgram experiment was designed by researcher Stanley Milgram, who tried to prove that anyone could carry out unthinkable actions under certain circumstances, namely when in a position of subservience. Milgram’s experiment was conducted shortly after the trial of Adolf Eichmann, who was a Nazi during World War II and was directly responsible for the deaths of many Jews, Slavs, and other minority groups during the Holocaust. As a response, Milgram asked: “Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?” The experiment consisted of an authority figure who would order the participants to deliver what they thought were harmful electrical shocks to another person, who was a ‘student.’ The participants took on the role of a teacher and were instructed to deliver shocks of different levels (slight shock, moderate shock, danger: severe shock) when the student gave an incorrect answer. Students weren’t shocked, as they were confederates of the study. Milgram’s study showed that 65% of the participants delivered the maximum shock to their students.
Through his experiment, Milgram concluded that both the presence of authority figures and the factor of obedience can influence a person’s willingness to carry out certain acts, even harmful and inhumane ones. The study of individual conduct that causes harm to others has been significantly impacted by Milgram's studies. However, critics have noted that obedience and authority factors aren’t the only elements in heinous acts, especially in the context of the Holocaust. Nazis weren’t just simply obeying orders; many voluntary soldiers held Nazi ideology that enabled them to perpetrate such horrid acts against humanity. Nevertheless, humanity can be easily swayed by authority figures and obedience factors, particularly in terms of morality and their inclination to commit evil acts.
Later psychologists have built on the argument that humans aren’t inherently evil. They have argued that humans face complex factors that lead us to commit heinous acts. Psychologist Roy Baumeister has argued that four main factors are the root causes of evil: the desire for material gain, threatened egotism, idealism, and for a small percentage of humanity, the pursuit of sadistic pleasure. Baumeister argues that bad actions are committed impulsively by ordinary people and they often feel regret and shame after their actions. He also states that people who commit evil don’t perceive themselves as evil people, rather that they are the “good guys fighting against the forces of evil.” Baumeister’s argument demonstrates that most humans aren’t innately evil, but the world we live in often contributes to the reasons why we commit evil acts. His argument also brings up the issue of morality and our inner moral compass and how the subjectivity of it can affect the way we act and how we perceive others’ evil deeds.
Another argument made that opposes the notion that humans are inherently evil is that humans have self-control and inner and social inhibitions that keep us from committing evil acts. Ever since we’re babies, we’re taught altruistic behavior and how to control our emotions and self-control. Adding on, one of the functions of the frontal lobe in our brain is to exert self-control and inhibitory control. There are both innate and taught features that help us control our emotions and impulses which keep us from committing heinous acts whenever we feel like it.
Despite all these things, many still believe that humans are inherently evil. When we’re exposed to violence and evil on a daily, it’s easy to dismiss certain humans as evil people. Delroy Paulhus, a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia says “we have a tendency to use the halo or devil framing of individuals we meet–we want to simplify our world into good or bad people.” While it is true some people do truly take pleasure in inflicting pain on others or committing immoral acts, most people don’t actually enjoy it. Rather, they’re reacting to the environment they’ve grown up in and doing what they think is right.
However, a small share of people does suffer from personalities or personality traits that make them more inclined to commit evil and immoral acts. Often referred to as the ‘Dark Triad,’ people with a dark triad personality suffer from narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. While having a dark triad personality doesn’t guarantee a person to be evil, it often means that the person is more susceptible to having impulses and tendencies to act evil or manipulate others. Regardless, dark triad personalities only represent a small percentage of humanity and have a large genetic component for both narcissism and psychopathy. There isn’t a rigid dichotomy between good and bad personalities; humans tend to have a mixture of both.
Humans are capable of committing atrocities and abominable acts that make many question the morality of humans. Yet we are malleable creatures that possess both good and bad qualities, so it’s hard to pinpoint whether humans are indeed evil or not. Nonetheless, the human species is becoming less violent. Violence and malice have been stifled by biological and cultural evolution, which has encouraged collaboration and compassion. Within and across human civilizations, there has been an evident trend toward less violence and more interdependent collaboration over time. There are fewer wars, homicide rates are decreasing, and overall violence such as spousal abuse and targeted violence is decreasing. Even so, people are becoming more selfish and we live in an increasingly polarized society. We glorify cruelty in both fiction and real life. The cruel and evil characters are glorified in the TV shows and movies that we watch all of the time. In real life, we see discrimination, exploitation, avarice, and corruption that all contribute to the evil in our society. We might not be inherently evil but the way we act makes it seem as if we are. Power, the pressure to conform, obedience, situational forces, and genetic dispositions can all affect our morals and empathy and make us act in a way we’d never expect. As a society, we should attempt to make the correct decisions and live selfless lives every day, not just for our benefit, but also for the benefit of those around us.