Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism by Ervin Staub (review)

Psychology and morality in genocide and violent conflict: Perpetrators, passive bystanders, and rescuers.

“…Although all human beings possess these needs, their forms or manifestations and their intensity (as a function of the ease or difficulty of their fulfillment) vary with culture and with individual experience. This theory was inspired by Maslow's (1971) theory of human needs and by the usefulness of needs in understanding the origins of genocide and other mass violence (e.g., Staub, 1989Staub, , 2003Staub, , 2010. In contrast to Maslow, I assume that basic needs do not form a hierarchy.…”

“…Traditionally, philosophers and moral psychologists such as Kohlberg (1976) have classified actions as moral or immoral as a function of a person's intentions or reasoning about them. But as I wrote in Overcoming Evil (Staub, 2010), this judgment cannot be based only or primarily on the intentions of actors, especially their stated intentions. They themselves may not know what internal psychological or outside forces lead them to their actions, and if they do, what they say may not express their motives but provide justifications for them.…”

“…In light of these considerations, and of others spelled out later, such as the fact that individuals-and societies-change as a result of their own actions, I view judging actions as good and evil, or moral or immoral, as requiring a consideration of intentions, the nature of the acts, their probable consequences, their actual consequences, the degree of environmental pressure on a person to act, and even their effects on the actors' further behavior. It requires a consideration of universal principles (e.g., sanctity of life, justice) and the principles of utilitarianism, the greatest good for the greatest number (Staub, 2010; that both universal principles and utilitarianism need to be considered is also proposed by Ditto and Liu in Chapter 3, this volume).…”

“…For example, conditions may focus responsibility on a person-this person being the only one present when someone needs help, or the one who has the expertise to act, or the one who is in a role that requires action (Latané & Darley, 1970;Staub, 1978). Or the feeling of responsibility can be inherent in the person (e.g., Staub, 2003Staub, , 2010. Feelings or the belief in one's responsibility for another's welfare seem to mediate between caring or empathy and moral principles, with elements of both.…”

Reasons for passivity, the roots of active bystandership, and trainings to develop it.

“…I and my associates have worked in Rwanda for many years, promoting healing and reconciliation between Hutus and Tutsis. Helping Rwandans understand the roots of group violence and promoting active positive bystandership were two important elements of our work (Staub, 2011). One of our early findings, evaluating the impact of a workshop we conducted, was that it led Hutus and Tutsis believe that for the sake of children, they can work together (Staub et al, 2005).…”