There are many ways that evil can be defined based on different perspectives such as cultural, religious, and even the psychological point of view. All in all, the term evil describes the acts that can be considered as morally wrong, wicked or horrible. Usually, these deeds entail one party acting in a manner that causes harm, injury, destruction or even death upon the victimized party. Actions such as murder, rape, terrorist attacks, and vandalism can be categorized as evil as they all cause harm and destruction to the party they are meted on.
Over the years, behavioral scientists and scholars have given much thought to the underlying reasons that may lead an individual to commit heinous crimes against fellow human beings, leading to the destruction of life and loss of property. This concern was raised by the tendency of seemingly harmless people being found culpable of engaging in such acts. Some of these perpetrators are often people coming from normal backgrounds and upbringings, hence raising eyebrows on the underlying factors that may have led them to commit such despicable deeds (Miller 18). This paper addresses such concerns, with an attempt to find answers. There are several guiding questions to aid the research. First, it is prudent to find out what causes people to commit evil acts. Are there any psychological factors? It is also critical to find out whether evil is inborn and whether seemingly good people can commit evil acts. The paper narrows down to acts of terrorism that have remained a global menace over the past few decades. It also strives to establish whether there are any external factors that may influence good people to commit evil acts.
The Menace of Terrorism
As mentioned earlier, several terrorist groups have been on the rampage over the last few decades, particularly after the dawn of the 2000 millennium. Despite much of these acts of terror being concentrated in the Arab Gulf region, they have gradually infiltrated other parts of the world, indicating growth in their tentacles (Horgan 159). This trend reveals that the ideologies behind the evil acts of terror have spread beyond their initial borders. Despite sustained efforts by political and military forces from the Western countries (America and Europe), terror groups continue to give civilians across the globe sleepless nights to this very day. Psychology experts have been observing these trends in an effort to understand what goes on in the mind of a terrorist before he or she decides to take lives and destroy property. The research has often involved interrogating individuals that have been arrested with the aim of gathering information that could be crucial in understanding a terrorist's mental and psychological state. Interestingly, some of these individuals have been found to have come from very normal backgrounds, with some being well educated and qualified, while others are from well-to-do families. It is therefore incorrect to claim that evil is inborn. Rather, people are gradually influenced by people and circumstances around them and they eventually decide to engage in such acts. Attention now moves to factors that lead to such influences and it will be hereby discussed in detail.
Religious influences
An old saying states that religion is the opium of the masses. This statement may appear simplistic in nature but it goes a long way to explain how religious beliefs play a great role in the lives of human beings. People naturally tend to believe things that have connotations of religion attached. It is widely believed that individuals joining terrorist organizations such as the Al Qaeda and ISIS are lured to do so on the basis of their faith. They are radicalized to believe that they are fighting a common enemy that ascribes to a different faith. In as much as this information may be incorrect, it is usually infused with scriptural readings to convince the potential recruits. No wonder we keep hearing of terms such as 'Jihad' which means holy war. Looking at the issue critically, there is no way that violence can be termed as holy or divine as it usually infringes on other people's right to life. Such misleading teachings also tend to channel hate and anger towards a particular target group. For instance, the target victims may be members of a different religion, and the recruits are taught to hate them and perceive them as enemies. The irony is that this goes against the fundamental religious teachings of almost all religions which advocate for universal love to people from all walks of life.
Political influences
Politics is another critical factor that psychologists have found out to play a critical role in the radicalization of individuals to join terrorist organizations. Usually, political power bequeaths those in authority several other advantages and benefits such as access to state resources, job opportunities, and status. Individuals eyeing political office employ all tricks and maneuvers to capture such power. In the course of their activities, some of them try to appeal to criminal groups to gain their support. They usually try to sell the narrative of political and economic isolation in terms of allocation of resources and other opportunities (Walls 41). They can also be convinced to believe that the current regime denies them the opportunity to effect the desired change in a particular society. Politicians dish out money and other forms of logistical support to such criminal groupings to pull them to their camp. Once they agree to work together, such groups can be used to terrorize perceive political enemies. They do so by instilling fear so as to whip support for their preferred candidates or political parties. In as much as this may be considered foul play, it is virtually impossible to separate terrorism and politics. Important to note, the infamous invasion by American forces into Afghanistan and other Arab countries like Iraq was due to political reasons as the US perceived the Al Qaeda terror group to be interfering in its political and economic interests in the Gulf region.
Social and psychological influences
Strange as it may sound, some individuals have confessed that they joined terrorist groups in the search for adventure. Due to societal factors like the lack of employment opportunities, some individuals especially young people may be lured to join terrorist groups for the sake of having something to keep them engaged. These people may be done with school, and with the pressure from peers, friends or even relatives, they may end up getting recruited. They may find it hilarious and fun to receive training for combat and operating weapons of mass destruction. Young people are quite vulnerable, and some are exposed to negative influences from a tender age including adolescents. Psychologists regard this age as a volatile age in a human being's development as it is the age they begin to gain consciousness about their environment and the world around them. Lack of moral guidance from parents and guardians may lead them to stray from the upright way and find solace in the hands of terror groups (Walls 37). Group or mob psychology is a negative factor at this tender age as they may find strength in numbers and join the wrong company.
Economic factors
Though overlooked, the economic situation plays a significant role in influencing individuals to join criminal groups, more-so the terrorist organizations. These organizations may also capitalize on the level of poverty in a particular community by luring the young people with promises of a better life where they can manage to meet their financial needs as well as taking care of their families and communities if they join the criminal groups. Due to economic constraints facing them, it becomes very easy for these individuals to buy into such narratives. They are more than willing to engage themselves in an activity that can put food on their table and take care of other essential needs. As mentioned earlier, these groups are backed and sponsored by powerful individuals such as politicians who may yield great financial power, thus it is easy to bankroll the criminals. The desperation in their lives and lack of hope for a better future is what drives them to commit the evil acts as they expect a reward in return.
Identity issues
Another significant factor behind terrorism is the fact that some people in the society may feel alienated by different groups such as the political class and the elite group of the rich. They may be radicalized into believing that these classes of people are directly responsible for the difficult circumstances facing their lives. It is normal in such a society for a particular group to take up arms in protest against the perceived oppressors. The founder members are keen on recruiting other members of the society to join them and expand their groups since they know that there is strength in numbers. To gain more support, they embark on several methods, including propaganda to sell their agenda. Other members of the society may get the feeling of identity with such groupings, thus joining them in solidarity. Still on the same note, there is a narrative that states that some terrorist groups are traditionally against the West due to the perception of historical injustices that have been perpetrated from the early years of imperialistic colonial rule. Apparently, there are still unresolved grudges that they hold and the hatred has been passed across the generations up to the present day. Such narratives are still spread to create a barrier between the West and the Arab world, thus hindering the various efforts that have been put in place to eradicate the menace of radical Islamic terrorism.
Scientific Perspective on Evil
As evidenced, evil acts are committed by ordinary individuals in the society that in most cases have been brainwashed to believe that certain acts can be used as a means to an end. Some people commit evil due to external influences such as peer influence and religious radicalization. In other instances, it is due to the feeling of identity towards a particular category of people. These factors appear to revolve around the evil acts but do not touch on the nature of the people who commit the acts. It is easy for one to claim that evil deeds are only committed by evil people. However, this is not usually the case. In some instances, people that may not have portrayed any signs of being evil end up being the perpetrators of these heinous acts (Gino 109). To understand this phenomenon, focus shifts to the findings of the Milgram experiment to help understand what leads seemingly good people to involve themselves in evil acts.
Stanley Milgram's conducted an experiment in 1963 in an attempt to understand the events of the Holocaust where millions of Jews were persecuted by followers of the Nazi regime led by Adolf Hitler of Germany. The Holocaust remains one of the darkest periods in history due to the massive loss of lives that took place. Milgram intended to establish whether the perpetrators were all evil people or whether they were just acting according to the orders they received from senior officials of the Nazi regime (Abbott 394). In his research, he made his subjects administer electric shock to victims in another room. He was surprised that most of the participants, actually close to two thirds were ready to administer lethal electric shock to their fellow human beings despite the protests raised by their victims. Luckily, the generators used for the experiment were designed to administer fake shock waves, thus there were no actual casualties. However, Milgram noted with great concern that when put under authority, people tended to disregard any ethical considerations they may have had. It was crystal clear that people are more inclined to please the existing authorities instead of acting on the basis of their independent judgment. This finding could be related to the events of the Holocaust. It may be the case that the soldiers working for Hitler's regime only killed the Jews merely because they had been ordered to do so. There is a possibility that a good percentage of them were good people with good intentions, including respect for human life, but they had to oblige because the authorities had made an order. Whether they liked it or not, they had to do what was asked of them.
Conclusion
As it emerges, evil deeds are not necessarily committed by evil people. It is clear that there may be other uncontrollable influences that may lead such people to commit some acts which may actually be against their beliefs or what they stand for. From the Milgram's experiment, the subjects acted according to the instructions given by the authority, which is easily relatable to the events of the Holocaust (Mantell, Faye and Panzarella 35). Similarly, the menace of terrorism can be viewed in the same breath. Individuals involved in acts of terrorism may not necessarily be inhumane or disrespectful of human life. Rather, they may have been pushed into involving themselves in such activities by other external factors such as misguided radical teachings, negative peer influence, and poor economic conditions. Therefore, in the search for solutions to this menace, the stakeholders must take these factors into consideration. Some of the solutions may be implemented at the societal level such as providing guidance to the young generation and giving them hope for a better future without them necessarily having to get involved in crime. Other solutions can be implemented on a political level, for instance, by seeking ways of equitable distribution of resources and economic activities. It should be noted that 'evil' is not part of an individual's character; rather, it is as a result of negative influence which leads people into engaging in despicable acts. Therefore, evil does not have to necessarily be committed by evil people; good people can also commit evil.
Work Cited
Abbott, Alison. "Modern Milgram experiment sheds light on power of authority." (2016): 394-395.
Gino, Francesca. "Understanding ordinary unethical behavior: why people who value morality act immorally." Current opinion in behavioral sciences 3 (2015): 107-111.
Horgan, John. "The Psychology of Terrorism. Revised and updated second edition." (2014): 159.
Mantell, D., A. Faye, and R. Panzarella. "The Milgram paradigm as a measure of pro-social behavior: Deciding to and not to inflict pain." Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Paradigm for (2014).
Miller, Arthur G., ed. The social psychology of good and evil. Guilford Publications, 2016.
Walls, C. "Beyond fear: The psychology of terrorism." Scientific American Mind 27.3 (2016): 32-49.
