The wrongdoer cannot maintain honor and dignity when denied agency and allowed to rely on excuses and psychological rationalizations. While we need to consider how the past and the present affect behavior, a difficult personal history or painful current circumstance doesn’t cause a person to behave badly. Most people who have suffered a traumatic past or horrific present do not go on to harm others. Instead, many such people become loving parents and good citizens—adults who develop gifts that benefit us all.
