De Evil People do evil things? Or. . . ?

Richard Beck, a psychologist at Abilene Christian University, is one of the more thoughtful and at times provocative bloggers out there. As a psychologist he looks at the world a little differently from we theologians -- yet he looks at theological issues through a psychological lens.

In a posting today at Experimental Theology he writes about everyday evil.

When we think of evil, do bad people do bad things -- that is, is the badness inherent to them? Or, do normal people do bad things, largely because of external factors -- circumstances and situations?

Beck speaks of this question in terms of Fundamental Attribution Errors -- that is we make a fundamental error of looking at people platonic terms, that we are driven internally rather than externally. He writes:

In practical terms, the FAE suggests this: We tend to overestimate the strength of our character. That is, we tend to apply labels to ourselves, seeing ourselves in Platonic terms. We see ourselves adjectivally. As a "kind" of person. A good father. A good husband. And so on.

He uses as an example a "Good Christian husband" that has an affair -- well is this husband really a bad person or has he allowed himself to be in situations conducive to such failure -- that is the husband thinks too highly of his inner moral fiber and isn't watching where he's going!

The lesson then is not to be overly appreciative of your own virtue!

So the first lesson in dealing with everyday evil is this: Treat your virtue with the utmost suspicion. Don't view yourself in Platonic terms. Think of yourself contextually and situationally. And as you do this, never allow yourself to believe your character is sufficient to carry you through. The history of everyday evil is riddled with the ruined lives of those who said, "I don't know how I could have done that. It's just not like me."