The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty

by Simon Baron-Cohen

Overview

An award-winning psychologist draws on years of research to unveil “a simple but persuasive hypothesis for a new way to think about evil.” ―New York Times 

How can we explain both cruelty and kindness? To award-winning psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen, the explanation for cruelty is low levels of empathy, and the explanation for kindness is high levels of empathy. In The Science of Evil, Baron-Cohen draws on decades of research to develop a new, brain-based theory of human cruelty and kindness. He explores the social and biological factors that can influence our empathy levels, explains the key distinction between cognitive and affective forms of empathy, and shows how low empathy can lead to dehumanizing behavior. Updated with a new introduction by the author, The Science of Evil will continue to challenge our understanding of human cruelty. 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465031429
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/04/2012
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	152,933
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Simon Baron-Cohen is a professor of developmental psychopathology and director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of more than six hundred scientific articles and four books, including The Pattern Seekers, The Science of Evil, and The Essential Difference. He lives in Cambridge, UK. 

Table of Contents

1. Explaining "Evil" and Human Cruelty
2. The Empathy Mechanism: The Bell Curve
3. When Zero Degrees of Empathy is Negative
4. When Zero Degrees of Empathy is Positive
5. The Empathy Gene
6. Reflections on Human Cruelty

Appendix 1: The Empathy Quotient (EO)
Appendix 2: How to Spot Zero Degrees of Empathy (Negative)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Baron-Cohen's professorial background shines through in the book's tone and in step-by-step, engaging prose urging both academic and lay reader alike to journey with him in scientific inquiry." —-Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Editorial Reviews

The Science of Evil contains a huge amount of useful information for a rather short read…it’s an important early step in building a more robust understanding of our species at its most horrific.”—Boston Globe

“Rigorously researched…[Baron-Cohen’s] discussion of how parents can instill lifelong empathy in their children is particularly useful.”—Dorothy Rowe, The Guardian (UK)

“Attractively humane…fascinating information about the relation between degrees of empathy and the state of our brains.”—Terry Eagleton, Financial Times

“Short, clear, and highly readable. Baron-Cohen guides you through his complex material as if you were a student attending a course of lectures. He’s an excellent teacher; there’s no excuse for not understanding anything he says.”—The Spectator (UK)

 
Richard Holloway, Literary Review
“Ground-breaking and important…This humane and immensely sympathetic book calls us to the task of reinterpreting aberrant human behaviour so that we might find ways of changing it for the better…The effect…is not to diminish the concept of human evil, but to demystify it.”
 
Times Higher Education Supplement (UK)
“Engaging and informative.”
 
 

Marco Iacoboni, Professor, UCLA; author of Mirroring People: The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Others
“The Science of Evil is a compelling journey into the ubiquitous power of empathy in our lives. The devastating effects of ‘zero degrees of empathy’ are masterfully described and thoroughly analyzed. Professor Simon Baron-Cohen’s book shows how, with its unexpected and unsettling absence, empathy reveals its foundational role in human sociality.
 
Dr. Helena Cronin, Co-Director, Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE
“Bringing cruelty triumphantly into the realm of science, this pioneering journey into human nature at last delivers us from ‘evil.’”
 
Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development, UCL
“A compelling and provocative account of empathy as our most precious social resource. Lack of empathy lurks in the darkest corners of human history and Simon Baron-Cohen does not shrink from looking at them under the fierce light of science.”
 

Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist
“Simon Baron-Cohen combines his creative talent with evidence and reason to make the case that evil is essentially a failure of empathy. It is an understanding that can enlighten an old debate and hold out the promise of new remedies.”
 
Andrew N. Meltzoff, co-director of University of Washington Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and co-author of The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us about the Mind
“What makes someone evil? What’s the brain got to do with it? Baron-Cohen confronts the most urgent and controversial questions in social neuroscience. Both disturbing and compassionate this brilliant book establishes a new science of evil, explaining both its brain basis and development. Baron-Cohen fundamentally transforms how we understand cruelty in others and in so doing forces us to examine ourselves. Reading this book invites us to widen our own circle of empathy—compelling us to grow and comprehend, if not forgive.”

Paul Harris, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
“Simon Baron-Cohen displays once again his ability to bring science to bear on troubling and controversial issues. Arguing that we explain nothing by describing acts of wanton cruelty as evil, he explores the simple but powerful hypothesis that such acts can be traced to a distinct psychological state - a lack of empathy. He backs up his claim with a wealth of research - from developmental psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience and genetics. Those who have to deal with the aftermath of cruelty may not agree with Baron-Cohen’s analysis but they will surely be informed and provoked by his boldness and originality.”

Michael Gazzaniga, Professor of Psychology, University of California - Santa Barbara; author of The Ethical Brain
“Horrific crimes usually freeze the mind, leaving only a desire for retribution. Simon Baron-Cohen has taken us beyond those mental inadequacies. In this book, proposing a new way to think about evil people and empathy, he has laid the scientific groundwork for a future and brighter science of understanding the dark side of the human condition.”
 

From the Publisher

This book is based on the enlightened idea that psychological rather than diabolical forces are responsible for evil in the world. Specifically, lack of empathy causes a wide variety of serious pathological states from psychopathy, extreme narcissism, and borderline personality disorder to debilitating though potentially positive disorders like classic autism and Asperger's syndrome. Baron-Cohen (experimental psychology & psychiatry, Univ. of Cambridge;Mindreading: The Interactive Guide to Emotions) describes an empathy measure and traces its association with an "empathy circuit" in the brain and empathy genes. His prior works and numerous journal articles reflect his commitment to this topic for over 30 years. While social and environmental factors are discussed, the focus is on a brain-based theory of behavior. Baron-Cohen concludes with a summary of his ten new ideas, treatment for empathy deficits, a discussion of "superempathy" (e.g., Desmond Tutu), and a proposal to acknowledge empathy-based disorders in the standard psychiatric lexicon. VERDICT Clearly written and succinct, this book will enrich but not overwhelm interested readers, although some may bristle at using the same explanatory construct for autism and psychopathy. It provides a useful perspective for understanding human pathology, including events like Columbine and the Holocaust.—Antoinette Brinkman, MLS, Evansville, IN

Library Journal

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen's fascinating work discusses biological and environmental components that may lead to a lack of empathy. Jonathan Cowley delivers the material in a strong British accent and rich tones. Cowley's narrative style, in concert with Baron-Cohen's clear writing, makes the subject matter accessible and engaging. Cowley guides the listener through the author's discussions of borderline personality disorder, psychopathy, narcissism, autism, and Asperger's syndrome, conditions that Baron-Cohen says have in common a lack of empathy—but with widely differing outcomes. All in all, Cowley gives a strong narrative performance of some thought-provoking ideas on the nature of empathy and evil. S.E.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2011 - AudioFile

Fresh, compelling analysis of the human capacity for cruelty, and how redefining evil in terms of empathy can reveal new psychological insights.

Baron-Cohen (Developmental Psychopathology/Univ. of Cambridge; The Essential Difference: The Truth About the Male and Female Brain, 2003, etc.) has spent 30 years researching autism and its neurological relationship with empathy,defined asthe ability to identify another's thoughts or feelings and respond appropriately. Historical examples of evil, such as Nazi torture, can be examined in light of this "empathy quotient," andthe author argues that everyone lies somewhere on the "empathy spectrum." Baron-Cohenexplores the complex interplay between social and genetic factors that results in an individual having a high or low level of empathy.Low or zero levels can result in cruel or hurtful behavior, though not always; a variety of factors, including early-childhood parenting, affect individual behavior. The author suggests that modern psychiatry, which identifies "personality disorders" as borderline, narcissistic or psychopathic, can reconceptualize these categorizations by instead classifying them as examples of zero degrees of empathy. Doing so would encourage new social and scientific approaches to diagnosis and treatment options, and may have long-term effects on how societies treat affected individuals. Baron-Cohen raises and effectively parses tricky ethical and biological questions (Should a person with zeroempathyserve prison time for acrime he doesn't understand was wrong? Is there an "empathy gene"?), backing up his arguments with scientific research. He also makes a point to declare his book an attempt to "restimulate discussion on the causes of evil by moving the debate out of the realm of religion and into the realm of science." Biological and psychological factors, not religious belief, he argues, determine cruel behavior. Only by examining the roots of those factors can we begin to understand empathy, which he calls "the most valuable resource in our world."

Baron-Cohen's theory isexhilarating in its implications.

Kirkus Reviews