By Human beings have the potential to cause terror. The horror of the acts that humanity has committed throughout its history has been the subject of numerous investigations. Are we evil by nature? What are the characteristics of those who commit evil?
There has always been evil and there always will be . In this sense, we ask ourselves: what is the anatomy of human darkness? The answer necessarily starts from the fact that man, since he set foot on earth, has always exercised violence. There is violence in survival and it is also exercised to control power and, in contrast, to rebel against the abuse and domination of tyrants.
It is worth considering whether aggression is synonymous with evil or whether evil implies a more elaborate motivation . In this sense, ethologists, who are people who study behaviors that are present from birth (innate behaviors), maintain that the aggressive instinct has a survival character and, as such, is far from being negative for the species.
What is evil?
For Dr. Huneuss, evil is treating a human being without respecting what makes him human: his humanity. Evil behavior is based on two key assumptions:
- The situation that is accepted, with a victim who is considered weak, incompetent or inferior. This mental construction motivates them to be treated as objects.
- The assumption that the victim, who has been stripped of his or her humanity, constitutes a threat to the abuser’s own physical and psychological safety, such that any conduct that involves harm or destruction to the victim is justified.
“This definition of evil presupposes that the abuser has the capacity to understand the consequences of his actions and, considered as such, evil can be defined as the deliberate infliction of cruel and painful suffering on another human being.”
-Huneuss-
In today’s article we are going to talk more specifically about the evil that is exercised by and in the group, as well as about those who exercise it: the torturers.
Group evil
For psychologist Stanley Milgram, humans have the potential to do evil and disconnect from the pain of remorse.
Conformity bias
Milgram launched the most iconic research into evil. He conducted it at Yale University. His concern was to find reasons that justified why most of Germany sided with Nazism, and why many went on to commit the atrocities they committed.
The research gave rise to the so-called conformity bias. In this sense, conformity bias is defined as the tendency that people have to act like those around us, instead of following the dictates of our values.
Milgram’s results
Milgram’s theory differentiates two psychological states to answer why there are individuals who commit evil within a group:
- The state of autonomy explains the fact that people feel responsible for their actions and use their own conscience as a guide to behavior.
- In contrast, people under the influence of the agentic state consider that, as part of a hierarchy, the authorities are the ones who have to take responsibility for their actions (even if they themselves are the ones who have mistreated, injured or killed) because the orders of the authorities act as a guide to correct action.
“The concept of agentic state implies that people experience a change in self-perception, a cognitive reorientation that takes place when they occupy a role within a group.”
-Singing-Ortiz-
What training do torturers receive?
The anatomy of human darkness becomes a specialty to be trained in cases of war and as a consequence of the ambition of governments.
Strength, endurance and intelligence seem to be intrinsic requirements for the position. In this respect, the most sought-after qualities, according to experts Isella and Huneuss, are the following:
- Submission to authority figures. The goal is for them to be able to reach the agentic state.
- They come from a conventional lifestyle with beliefs that traditions are important.
- Perseverance and the ability to endure training that is often brutal.
- Virtue or belief that what they do is morally correct.
- Fear of intimidation by superiors.
In conclusion, evil can be exercised individually or in groups and involves stripping victims of the conditions that make them equal to everyone else, stripping humanity from their soul.
“Despite the above, it is unlikely that we will find people who are completely monstrous and lacking in all human values in their way of being. What is more likely is that we will find in every society, stratum, group and community people who share many human values with us.”