chloe
11-06-2009, 05:40 PM
Excerpts from People of the Lie, by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
…a sort of paradox. Evil people feel themselves to be perfect. At the same time, however, they have an unacknowledged sense of their own evil nature. Indeed, it is this very sense from which they are frantically trying to flee. The essential component of evil is not the absence of a sense of sin or imperfection but the unwillingness to tolerate that sense. The evil are aware of their evil and desperately trying to avoid the awareness….continually sweeping the evidence of their evil under the rug of their own consciousness. The problem is not a defect of conscience but the effort to deny the conscience its due.
We become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves. Evil originates not in the absence of guilt but in the effort to escape it. The evil may be recognized by its very disguise. The lie can be perceived before the misdeed it is designed to hide – the cover-up before the fact. We see the smile that hides the hatred, the smooth and oily manner that masks the fury, the velvet glove that covers the fist. The disguise is usually impenetrable. But what we can catch are glimpses of “The uncanny game of hide-and-seek in the obscurity of the soul, in which it, the single human soul, evades itself, avoids itself, hides from itself.” (Buber, Good and Evil).
The words “image,” “appearance,” and “outwardly” are crucial to understanding the morality of evil. While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good. Their “goodness” is all on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie. This is why they are the “people of the lie.”
Consistent destructive, scapegoating behaviour, which may often be quite subtle.
Excessive, albeit usually covert, intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury.
Pronounced concern with a public image and self-image of respectability, contributing to a stability of life-style but also to a pretentiousness and denial of hateful feelings or vengeful motives.
Intellectual deviousness, with an increased likelihood of a mild schizophreniclike disturbance of thinking at times of stress.
http://schelliu.multiply.com/reviews/item/2
Do religious people also think there are humans who are pure evil?
…a sort of paradox. Evil people feel themselves to be perfect. At the same time, however, they have an unacknowledged sense of their own evil nature. Indeed, it is this very sense from which they are frantically trying to flee. The essential component of evil is not the absence of a sense of sin or imperfection but the unwillingness to tolerate that sense. The evil are aware of their evil and desperately trying to avoid the awareness….continually sweeping the evidence of their evil under the rug of their own consciousness. The problem is not a defect of conscience but the effort to deny the conscience its due.
We become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves. Evil originates not in the absence of guilt but in the effort to escape it. The evil may be recognized by its very disguise. The lie can be perceived before the misdeed it is designed to hide – the cover-up before the fact. We see the smile that hides the hatred, the smooth and oily manner that masks the fury, the velvet glove that covers the fist. The disguise is usually impenetrable. But what we can catch are glimpses of “The uncanny game of hide-and-seek in the obscurity of the soul, in which it, the single human soul, evades itself, avoids itself, hides from itself.” (Buber, Good and Evil).
The words “image,” “appearance,” and “outwardly” are crucial to understanding the morality of evil. While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good. Their “goodness” is all on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie. This is why they are the “people of the lie.”
Consistent destructive, scapegoating behaviour, which may often be quite subtle.
Excessive, albeit usually covert, intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury.
Pronounced concern with a public image and self-image of respectability, contributing to a stability of life-style but also to a pretentiousness and denial of hateful feelings or vengeful motives.
Intellectual deviousness, with an increased likelihood of a mild schizophreniclike disturbance of thinking at times of stress.
http://schelliu.multiply.com/reviews/item/2
Do religious people also think there are humans who are pure evil?