Ordinary People and Extraordinary Evil: A Report on the Beguilings of Evil

by Fred Emil Katz

Book Overview

What is it in the behavioral makeup of ordinary people, operating in the course of ordinary daily living, that lends itself to participating in horrendous activities - and doing so at times with zeal, at times with joy, at times without duress? Katz demonstrates that we do not need any special behavioral equipment for doing evil. The very same behaviors can take us in both directions for either living humanely and decently or for doing evil. This...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791414426
• ISBN13: 9780791414422
• Release Date: July 1993
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Is There Evil In All of Us?

For all of us who each day ask how there can be such evil in the world, Fred Katz presents a convincing explanation of how good people can do horrible things. While the focus of his book is the holocaust of Jews during WWII, his theory, that we place riders to our basic core values, has wide application. Evil against our brothers and sisters is most possible when the victims are marginalized. Nazis knew it was wrong to kill people; but in their tortured thinking the rider was that Jews were less than people. By extension, I wonder if we can justify capital punishment for criminals because we see them as "animals?" Can we guiltlessly make war against people whom we call "enemies," or refer to in other derogatory ways? Are advertisers and marketers able to use deception because they view us not as people, but as consumers? Katz' book got me to do some serious thinking.

Great service

Thanks for the quick service. The book arrived (in New Zealand) in perfect condition. Much impressed. Thank you very much.

One of the Most Memorable Books I've Ever Read

I originally read Katz's book in 1995. Images and examples from the book stick with me to do this day. It is the very ordinariness of evil actions (unethical choices) that makes this book outstanding. I recommend that people who work in any kind of organization read this book and think about it the next time they say or think, "It won't hurt anyone if I do it this way this one time," or "I'm just obeying orders. . ." A frightening but illuminating book.