Customer Reviews

On Evil (Thinking in Action)

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Usually I post any review that I intend to write here on amazon shortly after reading a book. That way, things are still fresh in my mind. Yet for ON EVIL, I let a little time go by as the book really gives a reader quite a bit to chew on and I wanted things to sink in. The author, Adam Morton, wants the reader to think in a clear and concise way about evil so that, pursuant to his theory, we do not see evil as something so different from our own behavior as to imbue it with an intangible quality, but rather as acts that are on a continuum with normal acts with which we can readily identify.

Early in the book, Morton distinguishes evil acts from those that are merely wrong and delineates three basic features of evil: visceral revulsion on the part of others, acts centered on atrocity and the incomprehension of the victim. By contrast, wrong acts are readily understandable. Nobody needs a philosophical explanation as to why someone commits adultery.

In the second chapter, Morton introduces us to his barrier theory of evil. For evolutionary reasons, people are born with dispositions to cooperate and live with others, including possessing internal barriers to unjustifiably harm others. The essence of an evil motivation is the failure to block actions that should not even have been considered. From this, Morton moves to his theory that evil acts are those that follow from a strategy allowing a person's deliberations regarding his actions not to be inhibited by barriers against harming others that ought to have been in place.

Yeah, it sounds a bit esoteric when I write it here. But Morton does a good job of explaining himself and fleshing things out. The barrier theory allows for interesting facets in the application. One of my personal favorites is that there is, in Morton's theory, a lot of room for unaware and non-violent evil. The barrier theory allows a person to navigate around internal barriers against harming others to the point of being blind to the awful consequences of his or her actions. As one of the most despicable humans I have ever met genuinely thought of herself as a good person and was totally impervious to clear and direct feedback about how damaging her actions were (she always responded by pointing to her good intentions and that she did not mean to harm anyone, and then immediately proceeded to go right back to business as usual), this nuance really hit the spot.

Morton devotes some time to evil guided by ideology, either through state-sponsored evil or through evil acts performed antagonistically to the political system in place. Morton further discusses the portrayal of evil in fiction and explains how such accounts may prevent us from thinking rationally about the issues.

ON EVIL's final chapter deals with the reconciliation of evil. Reconciliation is distinguished from forgiveness and some practical ideas are tossed out as to how society or individuals can deal with evil that has touched our own lives. I am no philosopher, but I found ON EVIL to be very accessible and very worthwhile and I certainly recommend it.

I really enjoyed On Evil. It is a book that everyone should read because it helps us to be more understanding, and it clears up many common misconceptions about evil. Whether someone is a nonbeliever who thinks evil is a made up religious term, a theist who believes evil is the work of the devil or just an average person who hasn't really thought about it that much. This book will really help people understand evil.