Philip G. Zimbardo: Quotes about Evil

Philip G. Zimbardo is American social psychologist, author of Stanford Prison Experiment. Explore interesting quotes on evil.

Philip G. Zimbardo: 22 quotes1 like

“The “Lucifer Effect” describes the point in time when an ordinary, normal person first crosses the boundary between good and evil to engage in an evil action. It represents a transformation of human character that is significant in its consequences. Such transformations are more likely to occur in novel settings, in “total situations,” where social situational forces are sufficiently powerful to overwhelm, or set aside temporally, personal attributes of morality, compassion, or sense of justice and fair play.
Evil is the exercise of power to intentionally harm (psychologically), hurt (physically), or destroy (mortally or spiritually) others.”

Philip G. Zimbardo

In "Who was Lucifer and how did he become the Devil?" (2007) http://www.lucifereffect.com/lucifer.htm

“I summarize more than 30 years of research on factors that can create a "perfect storm" which leads good people to engage in evil actions.”

Philip G. Zimbardo

In his introduction to his site on The Lucifer Effect (2007) http://www.lucifereffect.com/ <br class="br">Context: I summarize more than 30 years of research on factors that can create a "perfect storm" which leads good people to engage in evil actions. This transformation of human character is what I call the "Lucifer Effect," named after God's favorite angel, Lucifer, who fell from grace and ultimately became Satan.<br>Rather than providing a religious analysis, however, I offer a psychological account of how ordinary people sometimes turn evil and commit unspeakable acts.

“The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.”

Philip G. Zimbardo