M. Scott Peck on Evil

[Akita Suggagaki]

Anyone remember Scott Peck and his book The Road Less Traveled? he also wrote People of the Lie and talked about evil.

"Evil is described by Peck as "militant ignorance". The original Judeo-Christian concept of "sin" is as a process that leads us to "miss the mark" and fall short of perfection. Peck argues that while most people are conscious of this, at least on some level, those that are evil actively and militantly refuse this consciousness. Peck considers those he calls evil to be attempting to escape and hide from their own conscience (through self-deception), and views this as being quite distinct from the apparent absence of conscience evident in sociopathy."


According to Peck, an evil person:

• is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection
• deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception
• projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective")
• commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others
• abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion")
• maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly to do so
• is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)
• is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoating)
• has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

M. Scott Peck - Wikipedia

What do you think of his understanding of evil? Does anyone come to mind fittng this description?

 

[Rachel20]

• commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others

That could describe so many today with all the surface-only virtue-signalling

 

[grasping the after wind]

Anyone remember Scott Peck and his book The Road Less Traveled? he also wrote People of the Lie and talked about evil.

"Evil is described by Peck as "militant ignorance". The original Judeo-Christian concept of "sin" is as a process that leads us to "miss the mark" and fall short of perfection. Peck argues that while most people are conscious of this, at least on some level, those that are evil actively and militantly refuse this consciousness. Peck considers those he calls evil to be attempting to escape and hide from their own conscience (through self-deception), and views this as being quite distinct from the apparent absence of conscience evident in sociopathy."


According to Peck, an evil person:

• is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection
• deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception
• projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective")
• commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others
• abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion")
• maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly to do so
• is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)
• is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoating)
• has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

M. Scott Peck - Wikipedia

What do you think of his understanding of evil? Does anyone come to mind fittng this description?

There are no evil people. There are no good people,. There are only people that do both good and evil things. Asking me or other Christians to judge particular people as evil is not something I am about to 3engage in. Actions are good and evil, people are much more complex than that.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

There are no evil people. There are no good people,. There are only people that do both good and evil things. Asking me or other Christians to judge particular people as evil is not something I am about to 3engage in. Actions are good and evil, people are much more complex than that.

I agree with part of that. People behave the way they do for many complex reasons. It sounds to me like Peck is describing a personality type.

 

[grasping the after wind]

I agree with part of that. People behave the way they do for many complex reasons. It sounds to me like Peck is describing a personality type.

And claiming that that personality type is the definition of evil. I don't buy that. Evil comes in many more forms than that.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Anyone remember Scott Peck and his book The Road Less Traveled? he also wrote People of the Lie and talked about evil.

"Evil is described by Peck as "militant ignorance". The original Judeo-Christian concept of "sin" is as a process that leads us to "miss the mark" and fall short of perfection. Peck argues that while most people are conscious of this, at least on some level, those that are evil actively and militantly refuse this consciousness. Peck considers those he calls evil to be attempting to escape and hide from their own conscience (through self-deception), and views this as being quite distinct from the apparent absence of conscience evident in sociopathy."


According to Peck, an evil person:

• is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection
• deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception
• projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective")
• commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others
• abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion")
• maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly to do so
• is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)
• is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoating)
• has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

M. Scott Peck - Wikipedia

What do you think of his understanding of evil? Does anyone come to mind fittng this description?

Um......let's see....... Darth Vader?

 

[Darkhorse]

People of the Lie is one of my favorite books. I have found it very helpful and useful.

I buy copies at used-book sales and hand them out to friends.

 

[Ken-1122]

According to Peck, an evil person:

is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection

I disagree. Hitler had no problem killing Jewish people, and he did not need to deceive himself that he was good; he considered their slaughter to be good; no self deception required.

deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception

The people Hitler surrounded himself with didn’t need to be deceived in order to kill because they shared his hatred for the Jewish people

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

I disagree. Hitler had no problem killing Jewish people, and he did not need to deceive himself that he was good; he considered their slaughter to be good; no self deception required.



The people Hitler surrounded himself with didn’t need to be deceived in order to kill because they shared his hatred for the Jewish people

But were they not deceived thinking they were doing good for the Fatherland and the purity of the race?

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

People of the Lie is one of my favorite books.

Actually it is his one book I had the hardest time finishing.

 

[Ken-1122]

But were they not deceived thinking they were doing good for the Fatherland and the purity of the race?

I don't think so. What they did was in accordance to their subjective view of what is best for the fatherland, and as far as purity of the race, what they were doing was definitely accomplishing that. I don't think any deception was required on their part in order to accomplish their evil intent

 

[hedrick]

Yes, evil comes in many forms. But Peck was describing only one of those forms. He believed that the sort of evil person he was describing was rare. It certainly doesn’t account for all, and probably not even most, evil. Yes, it’s obvious who the OP means. But one of the problems with this radical type of evil is that it takes other people in.

 

[hedrick]

Here’s an intersting discussion of why Germans followed Hitler. News Bureau | ILLINOIS I’m afraid it is complex.

 

[FireDragon76]

Anyone remember Scott Peck and his book The Road Less Traveled? he also wrote People of the Lie and talked about evil.

"Evil is described by Peck as "militant ignorance". The original Judeo-Christian concept of "sin" is as a process that leads us to "miss the mark" and fall short of perfection. Peck argues that while most people are conscious of this, at least on some level, those that are evil actively and militantly refuse this consciousness. Peck considers those he calls evil to be attempting to escape and hide from their own conscience (through self-deception), and views this as being quite distinct from the apparent absence of conscience evident in sociopathy."


According to Peck, an evil person:

• is consistently self-deceiving, with the intent of avoiding guilt and maintaining a self-image of perfection
• deceives others as a consequence of their own self-deception
• projects his or her evils and sins onto very specific targets (scapegoats) while being apparently normal with everyone else ("their insensitivity toward him was selective")
• commonly hates with the pretense of love, for the purposes of self-deception as much as deception of others
• abuses political (emotional) power ("the imposition of one's will upon others by overt or covert coercion")
• maintains a high level of respectability, and lies incessantly to do so
• is consistent in his or her sins. Evil persons are characterized not so much by the magnitude of their sins, but by their consistency (of destructiveness)
• is unable to think from the viewpoint of their victim (scapegoating)
• has a covert intolerance to criticism and other forms of narcissistic injury

M. Scott Peck - Wikipedia

What do you think of his understanding of evil? Does anyone come to mind fittng this description?

Sounds like narcissism.

It's ironic that narcissists can do quite well in American society, and I think it says alot about our moral blindness.