genres: nonfiction. psychology. research.
The Review
First of all, if this wasn’t obvious already, don’t read this unless you’re interested in scientific books on psychology/psychiatry research. Now: this was a very interesting read. Although it was a little different than what I had expected. Because of the title, I was expecting something a little darker. More related towards the idea of evil and the bad things that people do. However, Baron-Cohen’s book is all about empathy. But to be honest, this was a very refreshing book on the ideas of “evil.” Baron-Cohen is very adamant in clarifying his opinions and what they do or do not relate to and it’s interesting to take his ideas and fit them into whatever thoughts you may have on your own. Definitely would recommend this to anyone with an interest in psychology and how the human brain can justify or simply not understand acts of “evil.”
Research:
The more scientific chapters on neurology were a little dull if you don’t have any prior experience with that specific field, but the rest of the book certainly makes up for it. I think Baron-Cohen’s examples were the best part of the book. Each adage was taken from real events and used to express ideas that the author had in order to more easily relate them to the reader. There are examples of violence, but also examples of individuals with mental illness that may or may not contribute to acts of cruelty. That is not to say Baron-Cohen only focuses on the negative. On the contrary, he is very clear in identifying positive ways in which a lack of empathy can influence an individual (this was certainly one of the most interesting sections to me).
Make sure you read until the end. To me, the last chapter (6) was the most interesting. This is where Baron-Cohen really takes all of his evidence and examples and sums it up into a nice conclusion.
approx read time: around fifteen days
Rating: 4 out of 5 Screems™
Ownership: I own a copy of this book 👍🏻