PONEROLOGY: The study of evil.
“In the author’s opinion, Ponerology reveals itself to be a new branch of science born out of historical need and the most recent accomplishments of medicine and psychology. In light of objective naturalistic language, it studies the causal components and processes of the genesis of evil, regardless of the latter’s social scope. We may attempt to analyze these ponerogenic processes which have given rise to human injustice, armed with proper knowledge, particularly in the area of psychopathology. Again and again, as the reader will discover, in such a study, we meet with the effects of pathological factors whose carriers are people characterized by some degree of various psychological deviations or defects.” (Lobaczewski, 42)...
"Oversimplification of the causative picture as regards the genesis of evil, often to a single easily understood cause or one perpetrator, itself becomes a cause in this genesis. . . . Any attempt to explain the things that occurred during the first half of our [twentieth] century by means of categories generally accepted in historical thought leaves a nagging feeling of inadequacy. Only a ponerological approach can compensate for this deficit in our comprehension, as it does justice to the role of various pathological factors in the genesis of evil at every social level." (Lobaczewski, 144, 109)
Read more: http://www.ponerology.com/index.html
Interesting concept, and I've heard ideas like this before, but the problem with calling certain people, specifically leaders, even leaders like Hitler, "evil" or "psychopaths" is that all of the acts shown in this video and attributed to them required the compliance of hundreds, if not thousands of people.
ReplyDeleteWhat should scare us most is that the same capability to be loving, nice people lives in all of us, right along side the side of us that could hate an entire group of people into gas chambers.
Not to get to biblical here, but Galatians 5 is an incredible description of the fine line between good and evil that lives in every person from Gandhi to Hitler.
"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
So, another way to think about it is this... how did I respond when my neighbor pissed me off yesterday? Did I want to kill him, even for second? Now imagine he was of a particular race or creed or whatever... and someone else from that group cuts me off in traffic tomorrow... and then they take my job next month... If I don't choose love every time, I'm taking tiny little steps towards genocide!