Abstract
When considering evil and psychology, Hoke (2020) notes that often in interdisciplinary comparisons the discrepancy is where the evil exists. Some research has concluded that people are not evil but the acts and behavior of people can have evil qualities (Horne, 2008). Other sources have concluded that evil is within every person, but it is only apparent in some cases due to sociological and psychological factors (Oliner & Gunn, 2006). Previous research in psychology has shown that humans can be influenced, positively or negatively, in their views on human nature (Putra et al., 2020). In an experiment, the researchers were looking to find whether people view human nature as positive or negative. They found that people’s attitudes toward human nature depended on how the participants were primed to view human nature previously (Putra et al., 2020). However, people viewing human nature as “good” does not make humanity any less evil. The researcher of this study believes that humanity should have a positive view on human nature so that everyone can live together harmoniously. In order for humanity to do that, human nature must be viewed positively (Putra et al., 2020). In the end, this study does not reveal anything significant about human nature or the evil within humanity. Rather, this study reinforces that humans are easily influenced and have a tendency to conform.
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Giua, M., Giua, R. (2022). Alzheimer’s Disease, a Personal and Family Tragedy: The Absolute Evil?. In: Dryjanska, L., Pacifici, G. (eds) Evil in the Modern World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91888-0_3
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