HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED what evil is? Or whether such a thing exists? It’s a word that’s thrown around all the time, and it carries the sense that there is a beyond-this-world source for the malevolence we see in a person or event. Evil is posited as a force opposite to God but with a bit less power hopefully. Humans struggle to find ways to understand why bad things happen to them, especially when they obey all the rules, and the concept of evil can seem to be an explanation. But does it exist? And if so, what is it?
If we draw a boundary around the word “evil” limiting it to humans and excluding events, we can attempt to understand how this characteristic might be seen in human behavior. Imagine a spectrum, with Good—complete self-sacrifice for the good of others on the one end—and Evil—complete self-absorption and self-interest on other. Naturally, most people fall somewhere in between, but a few are close to either end. Figures like Mother Theresa, who focus their lives on helping others, approach the saintliness of complete self-sacrifice, while the overweening self-absorption of malignant narcissists puts them close to the evil end. Most autocratic leaders exemplify the negative end of the spectrum, as do people who show no remorse for heinous crimes.
Of course human behavior is extremely complex. Human minds can obscure inconvenient truths as they plan their actions, raising questions about whether people’s motivations are truly evil if they are not in touch with reality.
Dr. M. Scott Peck, author of People of the Lie, explores the concept of evil as he believes he has seen it manifest in some of his patients. Those whom he considers emblematic of evil are those who manipulate others and operate outside a moral universe. Their behavior is designed only to suit their own ends. Nothing matters to them but their own desires and fulfilling their need for power and control.
This is a narrow understanding of evil, but it may nevertheless be helpful. Dr. Peck suggests that evil should be considered a form of mental illness. If this were to be accepted, and evil were to be listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), that would suggest that the normal state of human mental health includes a balance between healthy self-concern and an empathic concern for the well-being of others.
The causes of any given person’s mental disorders are not immediately discernible. Theories abound, and therapists are trained to use different methods to help their patients figure out the sources of their thinking and behavior. If evil could be understood as an extreme form of self-absorption, or narcissism, and if that could lead to successful treatment methods, it would be a great boon to humanity.
