Autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen believes that the term "Evil", adopted in Western culture, is incorrect. The scientist believes that the concept of "lack of empathy" reflects the essence of the phenomenon much more accurately
Why you are interested in the theme of the origin of evil and cruelty? From my father, who grew up in a Jewish family, I learned about how the Nazis made lamps from human skin, and what happened to Mrs. Goldblatt, the mother of one of his friends. He said that he was just shocked to see her hands: her hands were cut off and sewn on the other way around, so when the woman held them with her palms down, her thumbs looked outward and little fingers looked inward. Jews remember the Holocaust and still cannot understand how all this could have happened and how normal people in general could do such things. And did you manage to find the answer to these questions?
I have studied empathy for many years as part of a study on autism and Asperger's, and have come to the conclusion that it is all about it. In my new book, Zero Degrees of Empathy, I tried to figure out whether limited empathy always leads to violence. In my opinion, speaking about the origins of cruelty, instead of the concept of "evil" it is much more correct to use the wording "lack of empathy".
In general, what is empathy? This is a fairly broad concept, with two components. The first is the ability to understand the state of mind of another person, and the second is the ability to form an emotional response. In different people, they are expressed in an unequal degree and depend on the characteristics of the brain. Why do you dislike the word "evil", why do you propose to abandon it?I want people to stop being content with explanations like "he did this because he is evil" when it comes to inhuman acts. Such assessments are too narrow, and it will be better if we begin to perceive behavior as an external expression of the measure of emotional sensitivity that is characteristic of a given personality. The ability to empathize with one's neighbor is a fairly concrete thing. We not only know which parts of the brain are responsible for it, but we can also say what the degree of its manifestation depends on. That is, unlike evil, this category is quite measurable. And, nevertheless, in the USA your book was published under the title The Science of Evil ("The Science of Evil").
So American publishers decided. It would be interesting to see the reaction of readers who start reading about evil and already on the first page will see how I do my best to prove that this word is not worth using. It turned out to be a kind of trick problem.
You use the terms “positive zero” and “negative zero” to refer to people with certain mental illnesses. Please explain their essence
If a person has a level of empathy at zero, which is revealed with the help of special tests, then the case is clinical and it cannot be done without the intervention of specialists. “Negative zeros” are those who show themselves exclusively from the bad side. These include at least three categories of patients: people with borderline personality disorders, narcissism and psychopathy. I gave them this name not at all because they are all incurable, as one might think. Borderline disorders, for example, are amenable to psychotherapy.
And then what about "positive zeros"?
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That's what I think of autists. They have a low level of empathy, but it is almost always combined with talent and inner strength. And, most importantly, they have absolutely no desire to harm any living beings. And if an autistic child hit another kid to stop screaming, then not because of cruelty, but only in order to get the result he wants.
Do you think your proposed new view of ethical issues will make society think and reconsider its attitude to some things?
I think yes. Readers will have many questions. Take genetic aspects, for example. In my work, I talk about how we researched genes associated with empathy. Some may conclude that in general, everything is explained only by heredity. I have been studying genes and hormones for many years, including testosterone production in the early stages of fetal development, and I can say with complete confidence that environmental factor plays an equally important role. And although I constantly stress that I am not an adherent of biological determinism (that is, the concept that everything is determined only by genes), there are still those who will get me wrong. It's just that many people have a rather superficial view of such problems.
How to raise an emotionally sensitive child? The main task is to do everything so that he is not afraid of the world around him and feels safe. A small person should not be allowed to lose the ability to trust adults due to the fact that his parents beat him or leave him to the mercy of fate. These children can take a lifetime to learn to trust people and build close relationships. Some of them will eventually become "negative zeros", mentally unhealthy and potentially dangerous. Is it possible to make emotionally sensitive people "zeros"?
If someone has little compassion from birth, they can easily slide to an even lower level. If this ability is well developed, then you most likely will not be able to hurt, even if in some cases it will be required by society.
Lisa Els
New Scientist Jul-Aug 2011