Does Evil Exist (and How Do We Recognize It?)
The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful … is the great and most universal cause of our moral sentiments. –Adam Smith * One recent summer afternoon I received an email from a British podcast production company
The tendency to admire and almost worship the wealthy and powerful often serves as the primary driver of our moral sentiments, as Adam Smith noted. A recent email from a British podcast production company invited me to discuss their development of a project centered around modern manifestations of evil. Having steered away from this topic for over two decades, I welcomed the opportunity to engage with the subject once again.
We met on Zoom, and the young man inquired if I had heard about the cannibalism case in Florida. My disapproval was evident, and I expressed my reluctance to discuss such gruesome cases, stating that these incidents are exceedingly rare and divert attention from more prevalent and dangerous evils. The young man persisted by asking about less sensational examples of evil, prompting me to highlight the dangers of war for political gain and the reduction of aid to benefit the rich.
When asked if I had heard about a specific case of a man killing his family in their garage, I admitted to not being aware of it. The young man's fascination with this rare case led to a discussion on the psychological and neurological explanations for such acts, as well as the tendency to externalize evil rather than examine it.
The concept of evil as something so far removed from normal human behavior that it is both wrong and disgusting serves to avoid addressing the harsher realities of less dramatic forms of evil that are commonplace in our lives.
Written by urgent.news from Literary Hub's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
