WHAT IS THE NATURE OF MAN? OR
How does this become this or this
Is this the nature of man? Is this the nature of man? OR
Were these children born to be terrorists?
Are these children born to be kind to others?
What is the nature of man? Eternal Progress Perfectibility of self Perfectibility of society Selfishness Be victorious over others To do Good To do Evil To live according to the creator’s will To determine our own future All of the above?
Did the Holocaust happen because of the nature of man?
What is this man’s nature? Why did Charles Manson kill?
Why did Jim Jones lead over 900 people to commit suicide? What is his nature?
Why did Ramzi Yousef blow up a bomb in the World Trade Center in 1993? Was there something in his nature that motivated him?
Why did Ted Kaczynski send booby trapped packages to private citizens around the country? What did human nature have to do with his actions?
Why did Jeffrey Dahmer kill 17 men and boys then eat them? What do his actions say about human nature?
Why did Susan Smith strap her two children into the back seat of her car and then roll the car into a lake? What do her actions say about human nature?
Why did Timothy McVeigh pack a van full of explosives and blow up a federal government building in Oklahoma killing 168 people? What is his nature?
WHAT IS EVIL? The nature of man may not be evil but man is certainly capable of evil acts. The definition of evil includes: * An intent to cause emotional trauma * An intent to terrorize or target the helpless * An intent to prolong suffering * Deriving satisfaction from it all
WHY ARE THOSE WHO DO EVIL CAPABLE OF IT? They lack a capacity for empathy There is an emptiness where compassion should be They have a need to dehumanize others They exhibit extreme narcissism
SOCIAL PROCESSES THAT ALLOW EVIL TO OCCUR 1. Mindlessly taking the first small step 2. De-humanization of others 3. De-Individualization of Self (Anonymity) 4. Diffusion of Personal Responsibility 5. Blind Obedience to Authority 6. Uncritical Conformity to Group Norms 7. Passive Tolerance of Evil Through Inaction, or Indifference