A central dilemma emerges when trying to understand perpetrators of evil deeds. Certain kinds of explanations may have the effect of minimising responsibility of perpetrators leaving a moral dilemma in terms of what is to be done. Hard and soft reactions to evil are described and the concept of entitlement is proposed as a way forward, reviewing also the findings of links between self-esteem and violence. A few South African examples illustrate the place of entitlement in explaining perpetrators' actions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaumeisterR. (1997). Evil. New York: W.H. Freeman & Co.
2.
BilligM. (1991) Ideology and opinions. London: Sage.
3.
DurrheimK. (1997) Cognition and ideology. Theory & Psychology7 (6), 747–768.
4.
FosterD. (1991) Ideology. In FosterD.Louw-PotgieterJ. (eds.), Social Psychology in South Africa (pp. 345–391). Johannesburg: Lexicon.
5.
HarréR. (1990) Exploring the human umwelt. In BhaskarR. (ed.) Harré and his critics (pp. 297–364). Oxford: Blackwell.
