Becoming evil : how ordinary people commit genocide and mass killing /
Political or social groups wanting to commit mass murder on the basis of racial, ethnic or religious differences are never hindered by a lack of willing executioners. In this book, social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit ext...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford ; New York :
Oxford University Press,
2002.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Table of contents Table of contents Publisher description Ebook Library MyiLibrary MyiLibrary, Table of contents OverDrive View Full Text Connect to Proquest e-book View Full Text (access limited to Benedictine University patrons) Image Scholars Portal |
| Summary: | Political or social groups wanting to commit mass murder on the basis of racial, ethnic or religious differences are never hindered by a lack of willing executioners. In this book, social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts of evil. Waller debunks the common explanations for genocide--group think, psychopathology, unique cultures--and offers what he believes is a more sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He outlines the evolutionary forces that shape human nature, the individual dispositions that are more likely to engage in acts of evil, and the context of cruelty in which these extraordinary acts can emerge. Illustrative eyewitness accounts are presented at the end of each chapter. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | xx, 316 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-309) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0195148681 9780195148688 0195189493 9780195189490 9786610481859 6610481857 9780195303117 0195303113 |