Sara’s Reviews > Evil: The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side > Status Update

“I needed to remind myself that these thought experiments help us grow as human beings, that by understanding each other and ourselves we move forward as a society.”

“‘Evil acts are not necessarily the deeds of evil men, by may be attributable to the operation of powerful social forces.”

“Society teaches men that the make-up on our faces is for them. That the clothes we wear are for them. That our bodies are for them.”

“While personal belief in a just world can be good for us, as it is empowering and makes us feel in control of our own lives, the implications of general belief in a just-world beliefs have been linked with many negative attitudes, including towards the poor, and towards victims of crime, including rape.”

“We fear that which we do not know. Be brave. Only transparency can help elicit the cultural change that we need.”

“Someone being attractive certainly puts are creep-dar off kilter. We make all kinds of bad decisions around beautiful people. This is related to something called the halo effect, which happens when we assume to look good is to be good.”

“We love killing so much that our species is referred to as a ‘super predator’. This is because humans kills more in terms of quantity and diversity than any other predator.”

“It is easy to forget that the complexity of the human experience does not stop just because an individual has committed a crime. A single act should not define a person.”

“You will find that things that seem normal to you don’t seem to be normal to others, and might even be utterly reprehensible. Perhaps we are all evil. Or, perhaps none of us are.”