Comments on: The Banality of Evil, Part II

By: beaver

beaver — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:12:28 +0000

I wander why her friends ostracized her… She didn’t mean to excuse the hangmen. She just said to them “you did monstrous things but you are not monsters, you’re just a piece of shit.” Not every villain can be Richard III.

By: Spiritual Recovery From Narcissistic Abu. | 7Wins.eu

Spiritual Recovery From Narcissistic Abu. | 7Wins.eu — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:49:39 +0000

[...] you may be interested in Seamus Milne’s Lord’s Prayer « The Bleeding Heart ShowOpen Source » Blog Archive » The Banality of Evil, Part II [...]

By: Snortblog » Banality of Evil

Snortblog » Banality of Evil — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:11:47 +0000

[...] 007 Banality of Evil Filed under: Doing — snort @ 12:11 am I listened to a podcast on Open Source featuring Philip Zimbardo, the Stanford psychologist who ra [...]

By: Potter

Potter — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:15:06 +0000

An album of astonishing photos has recently surfaced. This is the article: In the Shadow of Horror, SS Guards Frolic Linked there is a multimedia slide show of the photos. As well Roger Cohen wrote this piece on it: Down Time from Murder

By: Potter

Potter — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:45:47 +0000

Speaking of evil...

By: » Ishmael Beah: Boy Soldier

» Ishmael Beah: Boy Soldier — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:03:47 +0000

[...] ng up in recent shows. As a living embodiment of the atrocities of war what is his take on Philip Zimbardo’s banality of evil? As a soldier, at what point did unimagina [...]

By: The roots of evil - can they grow in you? at Lindsay Patterson

The roots of evil - can they grow in you? at Lindsay Patterson — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:41:11 +0000

[...] m the world of crazy, mixed up world of social psychology: Radio Open Source has a truly compelling interview with Philip Zimbardo, conductor of the infamous Stanford Prison [...]

By: Pie and Coffee » Response: part 2 of 3

Pie and Coffee » Response: part 2 of 3 — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:54:12 +0000

[...] them. This is how I see shame. (As an aside, itâ€™s interesting to note that this is how Phillip G. Zimbardo, Prof Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford and deviser of the famo [...]

By: enhabit

enhabit — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:30:32 +0000

an aniversary of interest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/11/newsid_2476000/2476225.stm

By: Banality of Heroism « Disparate

Banality of Heroism « Disparate — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:20:40 +0000

[...] Banality of Heroism March 31st, 2007 Wow! I’m speechless! Open Source Â» Blog Archive Â» The Banality of Evil, Part II Well, ok. Not complete [...]

By: My Four Walls » Blog Archive » The Banality of Evil

My Four Walls » Blog Archive » The Banality of Evil — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:23:38 +0000

[...] ity of Evil March 30th, 2007 by lucas Radio Open Source just had Part 2 in their series called The Banality of Evil. Chris Lydon interviewed Philip Z [...]

By: Zimbardo on Daily Show - Tonight! « The Situationist

Zimbardo on Daily Show - Tonight! « The Situationist — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:11:32 +0000

[...] sday, you can listen to Christopher Lydon’s Open Source interview of Zimbardo, click here.) This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th [...]

By: Rick York

Rick York — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:32:03 +0000

I’d like to note a couple of things about both the banality of evil, as Hannah Arendt observed it and the problem of evil, which Mr. Zimabrdo discussed the second part.

First, current trends in the neurosciences contradict what Mr. Kohn and Ms. Young-Bruehl had to say about “empathy”. The discovery of what are called Mirror Neurons seem to indicate that we may be “hard-wired” for empathy. See http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/ramachandran/ramachandran_index.html
for an explanation.

Mirror Neurons fire when a primate views another person experiencing the kind of pain which the first person experienced. Briefly, when I burn my finger, a certain set of neurons fire. The truly fascinating thing is, when I observe another person getting a burn, the same neurons fire! Just think of the implications of that morally, culturally and socially.

Mr. Zimbardo created a society in which there were very sharp differences between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. In this case the having or not having was not money, but power. In the last century, totalitarian regimes developed in two countries which first, had histories of autocratic rule (the Kaiser and the Tsar) and second, at the time totalitarianisms rose, were undergoing extreme economic pressures.

This is not to say that the two conditions mentioned above are sufficient to cause totalitarianism to rise,. But, history seems to indicate that they are necessary. Remember, the U.S, the U.K. and France dallied with totalitarianism in various forms. They all were experiencing the same extreme economic pressures as Germany and Russia, but did not succumb.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that my own personal belief that goos, charity and empathy are at the root of our natures, seems to be true. What, Mr. Zombardo demonstrated is that, under the right set of circumstances, that inherent empathy can be blocked. Hannah Arendt established the most monstrous evil does not require only its creators, but people (not always a majority) whose inner senses of of empathy have been compromised.

As the neurosciences continue to explore the most basic elements of who we are, we may begin to open windows to shed light on those processes in our heads which lead us to behave morally or immorally.

But, no amount of research can obviate the necessity of inner reflection. As Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living. The Buddha pretty much said the same thing about suffering.

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:16:35 +0000

This didnâ€™t strike you as revisionist?

Zimbardo got caught up in playing a role and he had to find a way out.

So he uses social constructs as a way to determine good and then blames bad on social constructs. The individual has no control- it definitely leads you to a good and just God, no?

Isnâ€™t this the opposite of what Arendt wanted to teach us?
Funny he quoted CS Lewis, who thought that it was a matter for individual will to force up the love of thy neighbor.

By: enhabit

enhabit — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:40:44 +0000

“string him up! it’ll teach him a lesson!”

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:40:30 +0000

Mafioso goes to church every morning, donates to Untied Way, church – coaches little league – widowed mother lives with him wife and children good husband & father
â€“ he is a good apple

It is only his job to cheat, filch, and murder – If only law enforcement would watch more closely, huh?

apple + bananality = fruit salad

Note to self: write book encouraging blame as substitute for taking responsibility for oneâ€™s actions and make $$

By: DreadfulBastard

DreadfulBastard — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:23:23 +0000

apple = bananality Needed to be repeated and acknowledged for completeness. This would probably meet the Gilligan’s Island Standard, the first Stanford Prison Experiment, especially if coconuts were factored into the experiment.

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:34:30 +0000

apple = bananality

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:32:41 +0000

Bananailty

By: chena

chena — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:17:49 +0000

I can’t wait to hear the podcast. I remember coming across by accident with Zimbardo’s PBS program on psychology. Once I allowed myself to see beyond his Mandrake the Magician persona (to my very own shame, I know…I’m working on it) I saw him for the brilliant pedagogue he is.

By: hurley

hurley — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:47:52 +0000

Good show, particularly toward the end where Chris’ Emersonian bona fides converged with Zimbardo’s social-scientific endorsement of non-conformism as one remedy against evil (to capitalize or not to capitalize?). My concession to conformism to be polite about not conforming. Question authority, administer it lightly when you have to, etc.

By: DreadfulBastard

DreadfulBastard — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:23:31 +0000

Ceci n'est pas la banalitÃ©

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:00:01 +0000

I think he shouldnâ€™t say: good apple ( i.e. apple= good)

Apple = nothing
or
Apple = deity du jour
or
Apple = situation

This coincides with Arendt who says: apple = non-thinking

apple = banality?

By: ChefGreg79

ChefGreg79 — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 09:10:16 +0000

The idea that evil is in all of us is not a new idea. Especially in the sociology field. Philip Zombardo has basically just recycled a book done back in 1995 by Howard Bloom. Instead of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Blooms title was The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into The Forces Of History.
The quote read on air in the introduction to Philip Zombardo is actually at the begining of The Lucifer Principle, “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. but the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
It was a well done story, but the information seemed a little stale…..12 years to be exact.

By: Sara J

Sara J — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:44:50 +0000

This topic is chilling, but at the same time I find a hopeful message: a person who has done evil can also refrain from doing evil again, given the right circumstances and enabled by his/her surroundings to do good instead. I apologize for the simplistic language and formulation, but it seems to me that people are, after all, capable of rehabilitation.

thoughts?

By: Rycke Brown

Rycke Brown — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:30:24 +0000

I have been in jail and prisons in Arizona and in jail in Oregon. I would agree the behavior of guards starts from the top down, and those places were pretty well run compared to some states I’ve heard of. The guards were generally courteous, and those who abused their power were disciplined. The culture of those states demands decent treatment.

Culture is everything, both the one you were raised in, the one you are thrust into by circumstance, and the one that has changed around you. A culture can encourage both villainy and heroism in individuals. But individuals can also have an influence on culture, by the villainy they allow or the courtesy they exhibit.

An excellent article on the differences between cultures and the power of common courtesy is “Twenty Observations on Liberty and Society” by Jayant Bhandari, in Liberty Magazine, March 2007, available at libertyunbound.com.

Live Free and Prosper

By: DreadfulBastard

DreadfulBastard — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:01:13 +0000

Who is checking the checkers? The ad hoc deity du jour.

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:40:35 +0000

unchecked power goes bad, instead of good?

Who is checking the checkers?

By: LumiÃ¨re

LumiÃ¨re — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:34:37 +0000

Iâ€™m not following this logic:

if unsupervised, the good apples go bad?

By: rc21

rc21 — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:53:29 +0000

Nother, good post . This gets back to what we were talking about earlier. You spoke of your mother and how you could not understand her support of the war.

Let me ask you this in relation to the topic of evil. If you had a dictator who was torturing and murdering innocents by the thousands. Where women were being dragged off the streets and raped, where children were murdered on a whim,where gas was used to slaughter thousands. and you had the power and the legal authority to stop it, yet you did nothing,could this also not be considered evil.

I don’t have an answer just asking the question.