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

A groundbreaking and challenging examination of the social, cognitive, neurological, and biological roots of psychopathy, cruelty, and evil Borderline personality disorder, autism, narcissism, psychosis: All of these syndromes have one thing in common -- lack of empathy. In some cases, this absence can be dangerous, but in others it can simply mean a different way of seeing the world. In The Science of Evil Simon Baron-Cohen, an award-winning British researcher who has investigated psychology and autism for decades, develops a new brain-based theory of human cruelty. A true psychologist, however, he examines social and environmental factors that can erode empathy, including neglect and abuse.Based largely on Baron-Cohen's own research, The Science of Evil will change the way we understand and treat human cruelty. Basic Books Front Cover 1 Title Page 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 1. Explaining “Evil” and Human Cruelty 16 Turning People into Objects 21 Empathy Erosion Around the Globe 24 2. The Empathy Mechanism: The Bell Curve 30 Measuring Empathy 35 The Empathy Circuit 42 3. When Zero Degrees of Empathy Is Negative 58 Zero-Negative Type B 61 What Causes Type B? 73 Zero-Negative Type P 79 Zero-Negative Type N 103 4. When Zero Degrees of Empathy Is Positive 110 Asperger Syndrome 111 The Autistic Brain 115 Systemizing 119 Looking for Patterns 123 The Systemizing Mechanism 127 Classic Autism 133 Life Without Zero-Positive? 136 5. The Empathy Gene 140 Twins 143 Genes for Aggression 146 Genes for Emotion Recognition 148 Genes Associated with the EQ 149 Genes Associated with Autistic Traits 154 Stepping Back 155 Other Animals and Empathy 156 6. Reflections on Human Cruelty 162 Ten New Ideas 163 Outstanding Puzzles 168 Rethinking Psychiatry 172 The Banality of Evil 178 The Underactive Empathy Circuit 185 The Potential for Change 188 Super-empathy? 192 Empathy as an Underutilized Resource 198 Appendix 1: The Empathy Quotient (EQ) 202 Appendix 2: How to Spot Zero Degrees of Empathy (Negative) 212 Notes 163 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 216 CHAPTER 1 216 CHAPTER 2 216 CHAPTER 3 218 CHAPTER 4 219 CHAPTER 5 219 CHAPTER 6 220 APPENDIX 2 221 References 222 Index 246 Science,Non-Fiction,Philosophy,Psychology,Sociology,ISBN-13: 9780465023530,Basic Books ISBN-13: 9780465023530 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. Featuring a new introduction by the author, The Science of Evil will continue to challenge our understanding of human cruelty. "Borderline personality disorder, autism, narcissism, psychosis, Asperger's : All of these syndromes have one thing in common--lack of empathy. In some cases, this absence can be dangerous, but in others it can simply mean a different way of seeing the world. In The Science of Evil Simon Baron-Cohen, an award-winning British researcher who has investigated psychology and autism for decades, develops a new brain-based theory of human cruelty. A true psychologist, however, he examines social and environmental factors that can erode empathy, including neglect and abuse. Based largely on Baron-Cohen's own research, The Science of Evil will change the way we understand and treat human cruelty"--Résumé de l'éditeur A path-breaking autism researcher explores why some people lack empathy and what that absence means for the psychological understanding of evil