7 Levels of Evil

How do people who participate in a genocide typically view their own actions according to the history?

They believe they are doing the right thing and standing on the right side of history.

How does a serial killer's awareness of their crime generally differ from those in a genocide?

They usually know exactly what they are doing and do it in secret.

According to the lecture, what is the structure of evil?

Evil is not linear like a ladder; it has different motivations and faces.

Who is the speaker and creator of the video mentioned in the transcript?

Tibbor

What is the definition of nonresponsible evil?

A terrible event occurs but the person who caused it cannot be held morally responsible.

In $1987$, who killed his mother-in-law while sleepwalking?

Kenneth Parks

How far did Kenneth Parks drive to his in-laws house while sleepwalking?

$$20\,km$$

Why was Kenneth Parks found to have no responsibility for his actions in court?

He had been asleep the entire time and lacked conscious agency.

What is irresponsible evil?

When the agent is responsible for the circumstances that produced harm, even if the act itself was unintentional.

What example is used to illustrate irresponsible evil?

A drunk driver who ends up killing a pedestrian.

What is the definition of ignorant evil?

When someone commits a morally wrong act but either fails or refuses to recognize its wrongness.

Who filmed a video in $Japan$'s suicide forest in $2017$ seeking a dead body for views?

Logan Paul

What is complicit evil?

When someone knows wrongdoing is happening and either participates in it or allows it to happen.

Why is complicit evil ranked above ignorant evil in terms of choice?

The moral blindness is gone and the person simply chooses not to act.

What are the three faces of evil introduced that produce horrific behavior?

Justified evil, compulsive evil, and meta instrumental evil.

What historic event from $1937$ is used to illustrate justified evil?

The $Nanjing Massacre$ or the rape of $Nanjing$

How many Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers were estimated to have been killed in the $Nanjing Massacre$?

Somewhere between $100,000$ and $300,000$

What three forces shaped Japanese military culture by the $1930s$?

Intense nationalism, strict hierarchy, and a powerful ideology emphasizing Japanese superiority.

How was violence flow normalized within the Japanese military hierarchy?

Through common beatings from superiors.

Which long and bloody battle desensitized Japanese soldiers before they entered $Nanjing$?

The Battle of $Shanghai$

What allowed the Japanese army to justify treating many civilians as disguised combatants?

Many Chinese soldiers removed their uniforms while fleeing.

How were captured enemy soldiers viewed according to Japanese doctrine?

As dishonorable men who failed to die in battle.

What powerful force took over once the killings in $Nanjing$ began?

Group dynamics

What is justified evil?

Atrocities committed by people who believe what they are doing is right due to system, culture, or ideology.

What is compulsive evil?

Evil driven not by ideology or justification, but by overwhelming psychological impulses.

Who murdered $17$ young men between $1978$ and $1991$?

Jeffrey Dharma

What was notable about Jeffrey Dharma's awareness of his actions?

He openly acknowledged that what he was doing was monstrous and took steps to hide it.

What did Jeffrey Dharma describe as feeling unable to stop?

Overwhelming psychological urges and fantasies that had been building for years.

What environmental factors are frequently found among violent offenders?

Higher rates of childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect.

What part of the brain associated with impulse control may be dysfunctional in violent criminals?

The prefrontal cortex

How can violent fantasies function similarly to a drug?

They become a kind of psychological addiction that the person tries to recreate in reality.

How is the state of mind in compulsive evil described?

An internal war where part of the person knows the act is wrong but the darker side wins.

What is instrumental evil?

When a person knows an act is wrong but does it because it helps achieve some other goal as a means to an end.

What is an example of classical instrumental evil?

A politician accepting a bribe.

What is the definition of meta instrumental evil or ritualized evil?

Deliberately participating in an evil act specifically for the purpose of generating compromising material on oneself.

What is the term for compromising material used to gain leverage over someone?

compromat

Where did the term compromat originate?

$Soviet$ intelligence practices.

Who operated a network involving trafficked girls to generate compromising material on powerful figures?

Jeffrey Epstein

What function do shocking or illegal acts serve in exclusive clubs of power?

They act as a form of costly signaling to prove commitment to the group.

How does ritualized evil create a powerful bond among participants?

It creates shared exposure and vulnerability where everyone now has something to lose.

Which organizations historically relied on transgressive initiation to ensure loyalty and silence?

Secret societies, criminal organizations, and intelligence networks.

Why must everyone in a ritualized evil structure agree that the act is evil?

To ensure that the compromat successfully establishes trust and mutual dependence.

What catastrophic event involved extreme cases of parents consuming deceased children in desperation?

The $Nazi$ siege of $Lennengrad$

Why was the cannibalism in $Lennengrad$ categorized as justified or instrumental evil?

The act was justified as a necessary means for sustenance during desperation.

How did Jeffrey Dharma's cannibalism differ from the cases in $Lennengrad$?

It was driven by sexual and control fantasies rather than sustenance.

What is the unspoken rule for belonging in exclusive worlds of power?

Performing shocking, illegal, or morally grotesque acts to prove trustworthiness.

How does meta instrumental evil function as a system?

The wrongdoing is no longer a side effect; the evil itself becomes the mechanism that holds the system together.

When does Tibbor believe meta instrumental evil began to exist?

Maybe $30$ or $40$ years ago.

How does the perpetrator in meta instrumental evil often feel about the act?

They might be sick at the idea but still choose to do it for its instrumental purpose.

How long ago did Tibbor realize this third kind of evil existed?

$2$ weeks ago.

Tibbor states that evil is not __________ like a ladder but has different motivations and faces.

linear

__________ evil is when something terrible occurs, but the person who caused it cannot be held morally responsible.

nonresponsible

In $1987$, a Canadian man named __________ __________ killed his mother-in-law while sleepwalking.

Kenneth Parks

Kenneth Parks drove __________ while in a state of sleepwalking before his horrific act.

$$20\,km$$

__________ evil occurs when an agent is responsible for the circumstances that led to harm, even if the act itself was unintentional.

irresponsible

Tibbor uses a __________ __________ who kills a pedestrian as a primary example of irresponsible evil.

drunk driver

__________ evil involves committing a morally wrong act while failing or refusing to recognize its wrongness.

ignorant

YouTuber __________ __________ is used as an example of ignorant evil for filming in Japan's suicide forest in $2017$.

Logan Paul

In $2017$, Logan Paul was criticized for searching for a __________ __________ to film for views in Japan.

dead body

__________ evil occurs when someone knows wrongdoing is happening and either participates in it or allows it to happen.

complicit

Tibbor ranks complicit evil above ignorant evil because the person no longer has the __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ .

benefit of the doubt

In __________ evil, perpetrators rarely see themselves as villains and believe they are doing the right thing.

justified

The massacre following the capture of the Chinese capital of __________ in $1937$ is a key example of justified evil.

Nanjing

Historians estimate that somewhere between __________ and __________ Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed in Nanjing.

$100,000$ and $300,000$

Japanese military culture in the $1930\text{s}$ was shaped by intense nationalism and an ideology of Japanese __________ .

superiority

Brutality in the Japanese military was normalized through common __________ from superiors that flowed downward through the hierarchy.

beatings

Many Japanese soldiers entered Nanjing traumatized by the enormous casualties suffered in the long Battle of __________ .

Shanghai

The Japanese military justified treating civilians as disguised combatants because many Chinese soldiers removed their __________ while fleeing.

uniforms

Japanese doctrine discouraged taking __________ , viewing captured enemy soldiers as dishonorable men.

prisoners

In cases like the Nanjing Massacre, atrocities are often fueled by __________ __________ where refusing to participate results in punishment.

group dynamics

__________ evil is driven not by ideology or justification but by overwhelming psychological impulses.

compulsive

Jeffrey Dharma murdered __________ young men between $1978$ and $1991$.

$$17$$

Unlike perpetrators of justified evil, Jeffrey Dharma openly acknowledged that his actions were __________ .

monstrous

Extreme acts of cruelty generally arise from a combination of __________ and __________ factors.

psychological and environmental

Studies have found higher rates of childhood trauma, abuse, and neglect among __________ __________ .

violent criminals

Dysfunction in the __________ __________ , a part of the brain associated with impulse control, can reduce the ability to inhibit destructive urges.

prefrontal cortex

For many serial killers, violent fantasies become a kind of __________ __________ they try to recreate in reality.

psychological addiction

Compulsive evil often involves an __________ __________ where one part of the person knows the act is wrong but another part pushes them to do it.

internal war

In __________ evil, the perpetrator is not confused about morality but does the act to achieve another goal.

instrumental

A politician accepting a __________ is a simple example of instrumental evil where the wrongdoing is a means to an end.

bribe

In the classical sense, the harm caused by instrumental evil is considered __________ __________ .

collateral damage

Tibbor identifies a third, rare phase of evil called __________ __________ evil or ritualized evil.

meta instrumental

The term __________ refers to compromising material used to gain leverage over someone who has committed a crime.

compromat

Jeffrey Epstein exploited behavior to generate __________ on powerful figures to gain leverage.

compromat

In meta instrumental evil, the evil act becomes an __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ .

end in and of itself

During the Nazi siege of __________ , food shortages were so catastrophic that parents reportedly consumed deceased children.

Lennengrad

Cannibalism out of desperation during the siege of Lennengrad is classified by Tibbor as __________ evil.

justified

Jeffrey Dharma described his cannibalism as part of his __________ and __________ fantasies rather than sustenance.

sexual and control

To truly belong to exclusive clubs of power, people may be required to perform acts that function as __________ __________ .

costly signaling

Ritualized evil acts bind participants together by creating a shared __________ .

vulnerability

In ritualized evil, trust is established because everyone collectively agrees the act being performed is __________ .

evil

Ritualized evil binds participants in a state of mutual dependence and ensures __________ to the group.

loyalty

In meta instrumental evil, the wrongdoing is no longer a side effect, but it is __________ __________ .

the system

Tibbor estimates that meta instrumental evil may have only existed for about __________ or __________ years.

$30$ or $40$

History teaches that millions participate in genocide when they believe they are standing on the __________ __________ __________ __________ .

right side of history

Early exposure to violence can distort __________ __________ and blunt empathy in violent offenders.

emotional development

In meta instrumental evil, the person may be __________ at the idea of the act yet still choose to do it for leverage.

sick

Complicit evil is ranked above ignorant evil because the __________ __________ is gone.

moral blindness

Nonresponsible evil lacks __________ __________ because the person has no responsibility over what happened.

conscious agency

Jeffrey Dharma hid his crimes and disposed of bodies to avoid detection, proving he knew his actions were __________ .

wrong