Reflections to move from the banality of evil to the banality of heroism

Book Review: The Lucifer Effect. Author: Philip Zimbardo, Paidós editorial

Abstract

In this space we present a review of the book: The Lucifer Effect: The Why of Evil by Philip Zimbardo, which was published by Paidós in 2011. The author addresses what refers to the psychology of evil, especially before situational and systemic factors that drive it and facilitate the relationship of abusive and destructive acts against people. He points out that situations are created by systems, and how systems provide the institutional support, authority and resources that allow people in specific situations to act as they do, describes evil from three perspectives: The dispositional factor (genetics), the situational factor (institutions and / or positions or circumstances), and the systemic factor (power elite) to understand why people do what they do.