The Science of Evil

"I first found this book after a very emotional experience of walking through the Holocaust museum in Washington DC. I had always known and learned about the Holocaust, but this was the only time I had spent so much time unavoidably immersed in the suffering of the Jewish, the Roma, and the other groups who were killed by the Nazi occupation. That museum is beautifully detailed. I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness and empathy as I left the exhibit and entered the museum store. With all the books on display, I gravitated towards those that looked like they could answer my burning question: How could anyone be so evil?<br/><br/>Overall, I think this book did a great job of explaining the genetics, environmental factors, and psychology of what leads someone to disregard the wellbeing of another. I was really intrigued at one section in the book where the author summarizes that although other species display selfless behavior, empathy, as he defines, is specific to humans. Be prepared for plenty of jargon about the regions of the brain. I really like how he talked about people with little to no empathy and categorized them O positive or negative. The basic differentiation being that (O) positive folks are those who lack empathy and do not know/intend to harm others. His main example of this is those on the autism spectrum. Negative folks are those who are knowledgeable of the harm they inflict on other and simply don’t care, for example, people who suffer from BPD. I think this distinction is VERY necessary in a book talking about what it means to be “evil” as categorizing everyone who lacks empathy as evil is a dangerous slope into ableism and eugenics. <br/><br/>There were some points where he (the author) would talk about the childhoods of O negative people and how that impacted the mental illnesses they developed later in life. I wasn’t particularly fond on the hyperfocus on abusive mothers and the lack of talk about abusive fathers, but that may just be a nitpick from me. Although I did commend him on his separation of autistic folk from “evil”, there were some moments where I felt the language regarded them was ableist, leaning into the need to “fix them.” I am not on the autism spectrum so I won’t speak on their behalf but it did rub me the wrong way at some points. <br/><br/>I gave this book 3.5 stars. I would’ve rounded up but I want people see my lower review and understand my criticisms just as well as my compliments. A few lines made me tear up while reading because Baron-Cohen is so eloquent with his thesis that empathy is an underused tool in this world. I think radical empathy and vulnerability a gateway to healing the world one person at a time. I love warm feeling it gives me. <br/><br/>I do not recommend this book to those who want a full breakdown of the brain and psychology of every Nazi, terrorist, or mass shooter in the world and a step by step instructions on how to stop them, because you will be disappointed. I recommend this to those who want to expand their horizons on those they deem worthy of love, affection, care, and compassion. It surely did that for me. :)"