Evil, though rare, lurks in the normal

Many were surprised by the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq. Others were not. I was surprised but not shocked. That the videos found their way to the media was fortunate for our culture so we are reminded of what we are capable.

Unfortunately, the release also served to increase Islamic hatred of the United States. However, I was not shocked by the apparent pride demonstrated by the soldiers in the incident as evidenced by the photos. Here's why.

As a consultant to many organizations in the Western United States over the past 30 years, I have worked with them to reduce or eliminate abuse of employees within the organization and the communities within which they do business. To help with this effort, I used the significant work of Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., at the Psychology Department of Stanford University. In 1971, Dr. Zimbardo devised a research project, "The Stanford Prison Experiment," in the basement of one of the buildings at the university. In this hallmark experiment, he demonstrated how normal people, given the right "situation," can and do carry out abusive and evil acts.

Dr. Zimbardo states, "Evil is intentionally behavinga or causing others to act, in ways that demean, dehumanize, harm, destroy or kill innocent people." He further states, "Evil is purposeful and intentional. It is not random, but involves significant intellectual reasoning." Although his definition is rather broad, it does illuminate our fears of what all of us are capable of under the right circumstances.

It may give us some hope, though, to know that this kind of behavior is rare. In his article "What evil means to us," in the Journal of Theological Studies, Joseph H. Mckenna states "Of the billions of human acts performed by billions of human actors in any day of the world, the overwhelming majority of these acts are benign. Evil is rare, though with disproportionate effects." Because of this disproportionate impact and its position on the far outskirts of human behavior as compared with other forms of assault, its nature is not well understood.

While rare, one distinguishing characteristic between evil and abuse is the pleasure response. If carrying out evil behavior elicits a pleasure response within the perpetrator, the act is an evil act. Other than witness accounts, the only other available evidence of the Abu Ghraib incidents is the photos. These seem to demonstrate that the perpetrators experienced some satisfaction from their activity. Perhaps this satisfaction is in response to having pleased military superiors. Nevertheless, the results are the same.

This does not mean that the perpetrators are evil people. It simply means, according to the research done by Dr. Zimbardo, that they are normal people carrying out evil acts within a situation that supports those acts.

We should not exonerate those involved because they were acting under orders, that they needed intelligence, or excuses that the prison environment supported their behavior. All parties should be subject to the natural and logical consequences of this behavior, including criminal prosecution. However, is it possible that evil behavior by normal Americans at Abu Ghraib prison is a repeat of the Stanford Prison Experiment some 30 years later? Could it be that we need to look inward and review our own American psyche and potentials for evil. Perhaps we should.

In "Opposing Terrorism by Understanding the Human Capacity for Evil" (2001), Dr. Zimbardo stressed our need to understand the Islamic fundamentalists' hatred of the United States so that we can intervene effectively into the evil of terrorism. Notwithstanding possible other geopolitical motives, America's military move into Iraq and our human sacrifices there are of utmost human benevolence to the people of Iraq. Intervention and the deterrence of evil behavior perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and the courage to take on an entire world anti-culture is of monumental and historic proportion. As it should be, the more powerful are responsible to deter and intervene into the infliction of evil on the less powerful. As the most powerful nation on the globe, it is our responsibility to do so.

Material for this article was taken from the first chapter of Carson City resident Dan Mooney's book and current work in progress, "The Axiomatic Principles of Power." If anyone is interested, he will make a video copy of the "Stanford Prison Experiment" available at the Carson City Library.