Cambodia has a lot of fertile farm land, hot weather, and plenty of fresh water in its rivers, lakes, and rain. The land produces rice, vegetables, fruits, fish and farm animals easily. So why is it so poor these days? Much of the misery is, of course, man-made. The Khmer Rouge years in the 1970s were exceptionally brutal, said to have killed 2 million out of the then 8 million population. The country is still suffering from the madness and its corrupting influences decades later. How can people be so cruel to each other, even their own people?
Philip Zimbardo, in his book “The Lucifer Effect - How good people turn evil”, argues that the sadistic jail guards and butchers of the killing fields were not necessarily evil by nature. But “normal” people, even good people, can turn evil when they are put into situations in which they are given unchecked power over dehumanized “enemies”. Further, they will almost certainly turn evil if they are pressured to conform to an evil “in” group.
In 1971, Zimbardo conducted a famous experiment - the “Stanford Prison Experiment” - with a group of “normal” students from Stanford University. He assigned them randomly into the roles of “prisoners” and “prison guards” in a simulated prison. In just a few days, the prisoners turned submissive and passive. The guards turned sadistic, performing many abusive, sexual, humiliating, torturous acts towards the “prisoners” that are disturbingly prescient of those subsequently reported in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq exposed in 2004.
Zimbardo’s conclusion was that these sadistic “guards” in the simulated prison turned evil not because of some inherent faults in their character, but because of the influence of the “situation” that they were put under - as guards in the simulated prison. He argued that almost all of us, when put under such situations, will conform to the assigned role and turn evil.
I agree with Zimbardo that practically all of us will turn evil when we are put under such pressurizing situations. But I disagree partially with his explanations. We will turn evil, not because we are inherently good, who are only pressured to turn evil. We will turn evil because we have the potential, in fact, tendencies to be evil, in us inherently. These evil tendencies will rear it head when they are given a chance, as in “the situation”. We can only prevent it by being vigilant - recognizing and staying away from such situations as much as possible. And when we cannot avoid being put under such situations, draw on the courage and power of God to overcome the evil.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
17 comments:
There is an interesting follow-up of the SPE in the Standford Magazine, 40 years later: http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2011/julaug/features/spe.html
Thank you for the link. Some of the material on the web page were already in the book. But there are also some there were not there. Thanks. It really was a fascinating experiment, wasn't it.
There are some attention-grabbing time limits on this article but I don�t know if I see all of
them center to heart. There is some validity but I'll take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish extra! Added to FeedBurner as well
Feel free to surf to my web site facebook of sex
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put
in writing this site. I am hoping the same high-grade site post from you in
the upcoming as well. Actually your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own blog now.
Really the blogging is spreading its wings fast.
Your write up is a great example of it.
Here is my web blog :: adult sex
Thanks a lot for the helpful write-up. It is also my belief that mesothelioma cancer has an
particularly long latency period, which means that indication of the disease won't emerge right until 30 to 50 years after the first exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma, which is the most common sort and has an effect on the area across the lungs, could cause shortness of breath, breasts pains, including a persistent coughing, which may cause coughing up maintain.
Feel free to surf to my website :: facebook sex
There may be noticeably a bundle to find out about
this. I assume you made sure good factors in options also.
Here is my site - adult finder
I have read several good stuff here. Definitely
worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you
put to make such a fantastic informative web site.
my webpage - personals web sites
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to
my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
I've been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
My web-site: affordable atlanta seo company
I have learned result-oriented things from a blog post.
Yet another thing to I have noticed is that normally, FSBO
sellers may reject you actually. Remember, they would prefer not
to use your services. But if you actually maintain
a comfortable, professional romance, offering assistance and being
contact for about four to five weeks, you will usually be
capable of win a business interview. From there,
a listing follows. Thank you
Feel free to surf to my homepage: adult finder
Hey there superb blog! Does running a blog
such as this require a great deal of work?
I have no knowledge of programming however I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
Anyhow, should you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners
please share. I know this is off subject but I simply had to ask.
Kudos!
Review my web blog ... ketone Diet
I'm pretty pleased to uncover this website. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely loved every bit of it and i also have you book-marked to see new things on your site.
Here is my web blog - diets that really work
Hola! I've been reading your weblog for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from New Caney Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent job!
Feel free to surf to my weblog - article advertising
Hi there are using Wordpress for your site platform?
I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and
set up my own. Do you need any html coding expertise to make your own blog?
Any help would be really appreciated!
Also visit my web site; lemon law in florida
Greate pieces. Keep writing such kind of info on your blog.
Im really impressed by it.
Hey there, You've done a fantastic job. I'll certainly
digg it and for my part suggest to my friends.
I'm sure they'll be benefited from this web site.
Feel free to visit my blog post: http://nms.tru.ca/
Excellent weblog right here! Additionally your web site quite a bit
up very fast! What host are you the usage of?
Can I am getting your associate link on your host?
I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Here is my homepage forex trading online
Thanks in support of sharing such a good thinking, post is pleasant, thats why i have read it fully
Also visit my web-site - washer repair Clearwater *http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY25GypplEg*
Hello friends, its wonderful article concerning tutoringand fully explained,
keep it up all the time.
Look at my blog :: Betting spreads nfl
Post a Comment