Speaking With The Devil - A Dialogue With Evil
Carl Goldberg
Viking 1996 £20.00 (0 670 85557 X)
In Speaking With The Devil - A Dialogue With Evil, Carl
Goldberg, a practising psychoanalyst and former Associate Professor of Psychiatry at
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, applies his clinical experience of 30 years to
construct of a theory of the development of the malevolent personality. This book is an
attempt at understanding a phenomenon which he sees as becoming more and more widespread
in today’s world. "Evil is not merely a pejorative metaphysical concept of historical interest. It is a presence that decisively shapes our lives. Seemingly "senseless" acts of cruelty and destructiveness have become an ubiquitous component of daily life"
Goldberg’s analysis includes detailed discussion of malevolence not only from clinical but also religious, historical and moral viewpoints.
Malevolent behaviour is defined as the deliberate infliction of cruel and painful suffering on another living being. Intention is crucially important as this is what distinguishes a malevolent personality from other violent criminals. Malevolence can be used to describe the behaviour of serial killers, torturers, and practitioners of genocide. It is behaviour which we often find deeply fascinating, fear greatly, but equally find incomprehensible.
To be of practical value, a scientific theory of behaviour should aid prediction and ultimately lead to the possibility of control. A developmental model would recognise specific precursors of malevolent behaviour, and would allow early detection and prediction. Strategies of avoidance or amelioration could then be developed.
"There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at its roots" (Henry David Thoreau)
Goldberg considers the reasons for a lack of a useful behavioural model of malevolence on the part of psychiatry and the behavioural sciences. He cites two basic assumptions that have led to this lack of understanding.
The first is tied up with the issue of morality in that malevolence is assumed to be a moral issue and not the province of the behavioural sciences. Individuals choose to be evil, and this choice cannot be studied scientifically. Allied to this is the fact that many people have a "moral objection" to analysing this type of behaviour. There is a fear that insight into the motivations of such people could in some way lead to loss of blame for the atrocious acts they commit. Goldberg quotes the well-worn aphorism "To understand all is to forgive all". But understanding, of course, does not deny that individuals carry responsibility for their own actions.
The second assumption that causes problems is the practice of labelling individuals who exhibit extreme, sadistic behaviour as being "mentally ill". Such individuals are categorised as "paranoid schizophrenic", "criminal psychopath" and so on. In so doing, the problem is diluted, the individual is "understood" in as much as the mental illness is understood. Which is, in effect, very little. In addition, the legal defence of "insanity" and "diminished responsibility" carry the implicit assumption that we, being rational, can’t really expect to understand such individual’s non-rational motivations. Malevolent behaviour remains a mystery and we sit waiting for it to strike again.
Carl Goldberg’s proposes a five stage theory in the development of the malevolent personality, based on an individual’s experience of shame, the growth of a negative self image, and the internalisation of the "bad" self, a lack of feeling for others, all potentially leading to the acting out of this "badness" on society. Progression from one stage to the next involves the creation of a unique internal world where reasonable and rational choices (in terms of the outside world) may no longer be available. While malevolence may be an aberrant reaction to life events, the structure of modern society makes it possible (and necessary) for more and more individuals to follow their own codes. Ties of relationships are often missing, many individuals are alone, and it is this lack of grounding to the "real" world that is most worrying.
Speaking With The Devil is a powerful critique of the current understanding of malevolent behaviour in today’s society. Carl Goldberg stresses the need for understanding on the part of the behavioural sciences. The consequences of malevolence in modern life are devastating - from the localised terror invoked by serial killers or mass murderers, to the world-wide horror at the recent events in Rwanda, Bosnia, Ireland and elsewhere. A useful model that attempts to explain the origins and development of such behaviour is long overdue. Goldberg’s thought provoking and enlightening book is a step in the right direction. (EAL)
