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How can obedience and carrying out orders lead to horrific acts such as the Holocaust or the genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia, or Bosnia? For the most part, it is a mystery why obeying instructions from an authority can convince people to kill other human beings, sometimes without hesitation and with incredible cruelty. Combining social and cognitive neuroscience with real-life accounts from genocide perpetrators, this book sheds light on the process through which obedience influences cognition and behavior. Emilie Caspar, a leading expert in the field, translates this neuroscientific approach into a clear, uncomplicated explanation, even for those with no background in psychology or neuroscience. By better understanding humanity's propensity for direct orders to short-circuit our own independent decision-making, we can edge closer to effective prevention processes.
List of contents
Introduction: understanding genocide as a means to prevention; 1. Listening to the perpetrators of genocide; 2. A brief history of the experimental research on obedience; 3. How do we take ownership and responsibility over our own actions?; 4. Moral emotions under obedience; 5. Just giving orders? In the brain of those who command; 6. Desolation is everywhere; 7. Conclusion: How ordinary people stand up against immorality; Epilogue: A hopeful horizon.
About the author
Emilie A. Caspar is a Professor at Ghent University, Belgium, specializing in social and cognitive neuroscience. She is one of the few neuroscientists worldwide working on the topic of obedience and she has received many awards for her research, which combines neuroscience with field interviews involving former genocide perpetrators.
Summary
Throughout history, 'obeying orders' has caused the loss of countless lives. By combining recent studies in social and cognitive neuroscience with accounts from genocide perpetrators, this book explains the brain science behind obedience and how ordinary people can commit awful acts of violence. No background in neuroscience required.
Foreword
Discover how the brain is wired for obedience and how this can lead to humans committing brutal acts of violence.
