When we hear of people doing bad things, we tend to attach the label "evil" to them and condemn both perpetrator and action as being abnormal. But what if that is not true? What if we could all do evil things given the "right" circumstances? Basically, my question is this: are there only a few truly monstrous people who will perform acts of evil or is it something that almost anyone might do if the circumstances demanded it?
In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson presents us with Dr Jekyll, a scientist who meddles with the darker side of science. He does this by bringing out his 'second' nature and transforming himself into Mr Hyde - his evil alter ego who doesn't repent or accept responsibility for his evil doings. When Jekyll first sees himself as Hyde in the mirror, he sees not a monster but a friend, and he finally accepts that he has both good and evil in his nature.
What about the two people whose exploits are briefly described below?
This individual explored Greenland in the early 1930s and made the first ascent of 7,326-meter Jomolhari in Tibet before spending most of the Second World War behind enemy lines in the jungles of Japanese-occupied Malaya. He waged a campaign of sabotage and he later wrote of one incident in which: "Three of us managed to wreck seven trains, to cut the railway in about sixty places including demolishing 15 bridges, and to damage or destroy forty motor vehicles; we also killed or wounded between five and fifteen hundred Japs." Despite leading such an extraordinary life, our hero still felt unfulfilled. For someone who had always sought to experience the fullness of life, and the satisfaction that comes from overcoming danger, old age was a curse. Freddie Spencer Chapman shot himself at the age of 64 on 8 August 1971.
The second individual thought of himself as a scientist. He trained as a physical anthropologist and, during World War 2, he was able to pursue his interests, not as someone driven by evil or other bizarre impulses, but as someone at the forefront of science and as someone who could enjoy the respect of other scientists working in the same field. He was, perhaps, not a mad scientist but a scientist engaged in mad science. There is nothing surprising about people doing mad science. What is surprising is how an individual can construct a rationale to allow themselves to do it. Presumably, this doctor rationalised his actions so that he was able to look at himself in the mirror as he shaved in the morning and smile with pride and self congratulation. This individual was Dr Mengele. He carried out his experiments on inmates in Auschwitz, but does this mean he was inherently evil? Or does it simply mean that under certain conditions people may act in an evil way? Two such conditions in this case would be the Nazi ideology and world view and a theory or vision that justifies or demands evil actions.
Viewed in this light, Josef Mengele might best be described as a visionary ideologue, a careerist, a murderous functionary and, most disturbingly, a human being. He died of a stroke while swimming in Brazil—although his death was not verified until 1985.
And how do we describe Spencer Chapman? He fought bravely against the Japanese, Britain's enemy. His exploits sound like the purest fiction, an irresistible, real-life, Boy’s Own Adventure that we Brits should all be proud of.
But the difference between the two extremes of good and evil has, increasingly, become subject to interpretation, based upon our personal viewpoint and the portrayal of these characters in books, films, games and other types of entertainment. As Shakespeare said in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
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