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The concept of evil exists in every culture. What is evil? Where does our definition of evil come from? More specifically, is morality socially constructed, or is it rooted in biological evolution? These questions have profound significance for our society. If morality and one’s definition of evil are purely cultural, then there can be no absolute morality: all moral situations would depend on their context. If, on the other hand, there is a biological basis for morality, then it would be possible to determine universal moral guidelines.
By surveying our sample population as to what is or is not evil (and in what contexts a certain act may be considered evil) we hope to be able to draw conclusions about how universal morality is. Our hypothesis is that there are universal moral truths that everyone will recognize.
This research will be extremely significant. What we are investigating will shed light on the ancient philosophical question of whether or not absolute morality exists. In the wake of the recent philosophy of moral relativism, fewer and fewer people believe absolute morality exists. However, if it did, it could revolutionize the way we conceive of human nature.
Connections
As mentioned earlier, much thought and research has gone into the question of evil. It is one of the oldest questions in philosophical and theological inquiry. However, we still do not have a clear grasp of the nature of evil. Most likely, our research will not change this, but hopefully we will be able to shed some light on the issue.
Many of our sources below are built on studies into the nature of evil. Numerous anthropologists, sociobiologists, and others have devoted intense research to understanding evil. We have collected works addressing the question of evil from philosophical, psychological, evolutionary, anthropological, theological, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Clearly, it is a question of some importance that no small number of people have been investigating for some time.
Materials and Methods
We plan to distribute surveys among Miami students. These surveys will then be compiled, and the results tabulated using StatView or a comparable statistical analysis program. Based on these results, we should be able to draw some conclusions about the nature of evil.
We also intend to engage the class in activities designed to represent various ethical and moral situations, in order to gain a clearer understanding of how morality functions within groups and among individuals.
Here is an example of a survey we might use (this is subject to revision):
Age: _____
Sex: M F
1. Would you describe yourself as a religious person? Yes No Sometimes
2. Do you believe that evil exists? Yes No Maybe
3. Are there some things that are always right or always wrong? Yes No Maybe
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not likely at all and 10 is extremely likely, how likely is it that you would take the actions described in the situations below?
1. Your significant other asks your opinion of the clothes s/he is wearing. You do not like them, but you say they look good anyway to please your partner.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. A professor accuses you and another student of cheating on a test. Neither of you cheated, but the professor does not believe this. If you accuse the other person of cheating, s/he will fail the test but you will get an A. If you do not, you both will fail. You decide to blame the other person for cheating.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. You find an unmarked envelope full of cash on the sidewalk. If you take it to the police, it is possible they will be able to find who it belongs to. On the other hand, if you keep the money, you will be able to feed your family. You decide to keep the money.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. You find a man’s wallet on the sidewalk. His ID is inside; you would have no trouble returning it to him. There is $100 cash inside. You take the cash and return the man’s wallet, saying that it was empty when you found it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. An assailant enters your home. You have a gun. If you shoot him, it is likely he will die. However, if you do not, your family and yourself are in peril. You shoot him on sight.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. A coworker has information that could get you fired. S/he confronts you with this information in a secluded area. No one knows the two of you are meeting there. If you murder your coworker, it is highly unlikely the crime will be traced back to you. You kill him/her in order to protect your job.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We hope to be able to distribute 200 surveys across campus. This should give us a large enough sample size to perform significant statistical analysis.
Timeline
This is a rough schedule of our intended progress:
Week 9: Finalize surveys, begin distribution
Week 10: Continue survey distribution, study research materials
Week 11: Finalize surveying, continue research
Week 12: Compile survey results; statistical analysis
Week 13: Compile materials for final project/presentation
Week 14: Begin work on final project
Week 15: Continue final project, wrap up loose ends
Week 16: Complete project
Sources
Here’s some of the sources we have right now. They are really neat!
Anders, Timothy. The Evolution of Evil. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Co., 1994.
Hurd, James P. Investigating the Biological Foundations of Human Morality. Lampeter, Wales: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1996.
Paradis, James, and George C. Williams. Evolution and Ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Rottschaefer, William A. The Biology and Psychology of Moral Agency. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Singer, Peter. Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Stent, Gunther S. Morality as a Biological Phenomenon. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1980.
Wawrytko, Sandra A. The Problem of Evil. Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 2000.
http://cogweb.english.ucsb.edu CogWeb: Cognitive Cultural Studies.
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