Evil a Learned Behavior - 6329 Words

â€Å"Evil, a Learned Behavior† What is evil? Is it characterized by a desire to cause hurt or harm, â€Å"an evil mood†? What causes people to do evil? The strong feelings of hatred and dislike that builds up in all of us or simply that all our emotions are constantly on the dark side for such a long period of time. What is right from wrong when the hate in our hearts makes us all make terrible mistakes and commit evil. The writings of Confucius say, â€Å"There is no light without darkness, no positive without negative, no good without evil.† Throughout the history of humanity, humans have committed inconceivable and unthinkable acts of cruelty towards one another. From the brutal wars during the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, to the modern†¦show more content†¦Having grown up an Orthodox Jew in the Hungarian village of Sighet, Wiesel and his family was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 where his mother and youngest sister were immediately sent to the gas chambers. While both his older sisters survived, his father, with whom Wiesel had fought to survive the labor camps, died shortly before the war ended. Night tells the horror stories of the Holocaust through the eyes of the fifteen-year old Wiesel who recounts the loss of his innocence, his faith in God, his sense of time and his sense of self. Night describes how the Nazis dehumanized the Jews at every stage through the war years. And in the process, they lost their own sense of humanity. Dehumanization usually involves members of one group asserting the inferiority of another group through acts or words. But during the Holocaust, the Nazis did not stop at simply asserting their own superiority over the Jews; they stripped them of their sense of self and individuality and reduced them to the numbers they had tattooed on their arms. The theme of inhumanity is omnipresent in every story and every memory recounted in the memoir. Night makes you question the power of humanity. It makes you wonder how ordinary human beings could bring themselves to commit the kind of atrocities that we now deem unthinkable. But then again, people say that the most human thing of all isShow MoreRelatedEssay about Frankenstien All Behavior Is L616 Words   |  3 Pages The monsteramp;#8217;s behavior was directly related to, his experiences with society and its treatment of him. All behavior is learned, therefore if the monster was to be good or evil depended on societies reaction to him. Even though the monster had a fully matured body, he was like a child because he had no memories or experiences of his own. When the monster was given life he had no concept of good or evil. Everything that he did or experienced was something new to him. All of the monsteramp;#8217;sRead MoreDescriptions Of Grendel : Characters Come From Nature In Beowulf1103 Words   |  5 Pagestraits likewise inherited? Or, are they learned? In other words, do behavioral traits come from nature (inherited) or from nurture (learned)? This question can be applied to â€Å"Grendel,† a murderous monster a in the epic poem of â€Å"Beowulf,† Was Grendel born a monster? Or, was he raised to be a monster? Or, are his monstrous behaviors a result of both nature and nurture? Descriptions of Grendel from the â€Å"Beowulf† poem give evidence that his monstrous behavior was a result of both nature and nurture;Read MoreBeliefs, Morals, and Values1053 Words   |  5 Pagesis important to recognize that some morals change when society changes for what was once not acceptable is acceptable and vice versa. *****Is man inherently good or inherently evil?**** This is definitely going to be a matter of opinion. So what has framed the way of thinking for me in regards to good and evil by incorporating beliefs, values, and morals? This has derived from a little of several entities, not just narrowed by one way of thinking. Since I grew up with religion in my familyRead MoreEssay on Crime and Delinquency1407 Words   |  6 PagesCrime and Delinquency In 1939 Criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland proposed his theory of Differential Association in his Principles of Criminology textbook. Differential Association theory states that criminal behavior is learned behavior. Sutherland along with Richard Cloward, and Lloyd Ohlin attempted to explain this phenomenon by emphasizing the role of learning. To become a criminal, a person must not only be inclined toward illegal activity, he or she must also learn how to commit criminalRead More Normalizing Thoughtlessness Essay1294 Words   |  6 Pagesrational people regardless of specific situational context, such as a natural condition to man in evildoing. The face of evil portrayal the high-ranking SS official at Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem is not necessarily that of a radically wicked neurotic mastermind, but comes in the form of a banal and unimpressive distortion of normalcy. Arendt argues that the banality of evil is standardizing as thoughtlessness into the unthinkable action of human’s terrible deeds in a systematic and methodical wayRead MoreKings Gothic Naturalism1677 Words   |  7 Pagesmainly sought after for entertainment into insightful literature. In The Shining, King explores the triumphs and failures of naturalism, as he illustrates the moral implications of a deterministic character’s actions in a world divided by good and evil. His main character, Jack Torrance, embodies the essence of the naturalist. Jack is a man who struggles to control his temper, especially when under the influence. Growing up with an abusive father, â€Å"Jack had taken his lumps when the old man wasRead More`` Not Here : If We re Truly Serious About Stopping Massacres Like1687 Words   |  7 PagesHere: If we’re truly serious about stopping massacres like Aurora, we need to cure our addiction to evil† informs readers about the truth behind massacres. Metcalf says that violence performed in the form of mass killing have definite causes. People are fascinated by the violence. He further suggests that evil and mass killing incidents in Aurora and Port Arthur are just few examples of that evil. The evil in our society is growing in large portion and people are more attracted towards violence. The articleRead MoreStereotypes, Conformity, And Discrimination1742 Words   |  7 Pagesand Discrimination in American History X Abstract Stereotyping, prejudice, conformity, and discrimination are well portrayed in the movie American History X. The negative attitude held by Derek towards to black people is greatly influenced and learned from his father who was a racist. Derek also transfers these prejudice attitudes towards his younger brother Danny as he grows up seeing the racism practiced in his family and his brother. Although these attitudes are based on propaganda, the twoRead MoreThe Origin Of Good And Evil By Richard Taylor And Why Morality Is Not Relative By James Rachels1741 Words   |  7 PagesUsing two articles â€Å"On the Origin of Good and Evil† by Richard Taylor and â€Å"Why Morality Is Not Relative† by James Rachels from the book Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature, author, Louis P. Pojman and Lewis Vaughn, this essay will first try to identify what each of two articles says about the nature of good and evil, and is everything on morality is relative. Taylor f rom the article â€Å"On the Origin of Good and Evil†, states that morality is not inspirational, but a naturalRead MoreThe Real Monster in Frankestein by Mary Shelley1000 Words   |  4 Pagesjust like a child reaches for their parent. It is evident that the monster’s erratic behavior was directly related to his experiences with society and the rejection of his own creator. Psychology states that all behavior is learned, therefore implying that the monster was not born to be evil, but rather learned these qualities from Victor’s abandonment. When the monster was given life he had no concept of good or evil. Although he had a mature body figure he was still a child because he had no memories