To be against evil, you need to be aware of the conditions in which any ordinary person becomes evil. Renowned psychologist Philip Zimbardo spoke about the psychology of evil and the psychology of a hero in his TED talk.
3 factors influencing evil
To be against evil, you need to know under what conditions evil arises. Evil arises under the influence of three factors:
- the person himself, his personal qualities, character;
- peculiarity of the situation, circumstances;
- a system that puts a person in a certain situation and creates the possibility of these situations.
Let's consider these factors in order.
First. In fact, there are few “bad chaffs,” as Philip Zimbardo put it. Only about 1% of people can just do harm to another person just because they have such a character or a sadistic personality.
Situations in which a person is inclined to show evil are new, unfamiliar situations. When habitual stereotypes of behavior do not work, they do not fit. Nobody is immune from this. However, in every unfamiliar situation, we have a choice: to indulge evil or resist it, to prove ourselves as a hero.
Third. Evil is the result of the work of a system that puts a person in certain conditions, endows him with power over other people. Evil, according to Philip Zimbardo, is always associated with force, with the ability to use it in relation to other people.
Conditions under which it is difficult to be against evil
So, we found out that most people are by nature opposed to evil, not inclined to inflict pain and suffering on other people. We also found out that each of us can get into an unfamiliar situation for which there will be no ready-made patterns of behavior - in such a situation it is more difficult to resist evil. Consequently, the origins of evil lie in a system that places the ordinary person in special conditions.
Any of us can become evil, as Stanley Milgram proved in his experiment. He conducted a series of experiments in which ordinary people, like you and me, took part. It turned out that in a certain situation 90% of us are capable of deliberately torturing another person, inflicting pain and suffering on him, knowing that the other may be seriously injured and receive injuries incompatible with life. The question is, what are the conditions in which an ordinary person turns into a villain.
Philip Zimbardo names three conditions in which it is difficult to be against evil.
The first condition is unconditional submission to authority. This means that if someone is ready to take responsibility for the damage we have caused, it frees our hands. To resist this factor, do not give your responsibility to anyone. Remember whose hand is pressing the button: your hand means your responsibility. Your personal responsibility is your guiding thread to help you stand against evil.
The second condition is facelessness, uniformity. It is easier for the evil to become in a crowd of their own kind. Cultures in which it is customary to unify fighters (with the help of uniforms), hide their identity (under masks or war paint), make them anonymous, show great cruelty during hostilities. If you remain yourself, do not wear a mask and act on your own behalf, you no longer want to harm other people.
The third condition is a sense of impunity. If you know that no one will check the result of your actions, will not evaluate or punish you for them, this again unties your hands. It must be remembered that the most important controller is yourself, your own conscience and morality.
To be against evil, you need to monitor these conditions, especially in new, unfamiliar situations. In order not to become angry, in an unfamiliar critical situation you must hold on to your responsibility (do not delegate it to a higher authority), remain yourself (do not merge with the crowd, do not hide behind your backs) and be sure,what they know about your atrocities, and what they already know about them - you yourself know.
According to Philip Zimbardo, he who is against evil is a hero. A hero is an ordinary person who acts when everyone is inactive, and does it for the common good, not his own. Philip Zimbardo is convinced that we must all become heroes who wait for the right situation to prove ourselves and go against evil.
