Chapter 4: Wicked in waiting
The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. — Bible, Psalm 53:8
Growing up is a lottery. No one has a say over their genes or their parents, including the environment that is created on their behalf. For individuals raised in poverty, abused by parents or abandoned by them, there may come a time when it is possible to purge the past, rise above it, and lay down new tracks. Success in this endeavor depends upon biological potential and the environment’s toxicity. Though every healthy human being acquires the same basic biological ingredients, individual differences in how our biology expresses itself can either provide immunity against toxic environments or deep vulnerabilities. The unlucky ones inherit genes that predispose to sensation-seeking and risk-taking, callous and unemotional attitudes toward others, weak self-control, and narcissistic leanings. With this lottery ticket, it takes little to trigger the mindset of an evildoer. And yet some resist. An impressive accumulation of scientific evidence helps explain the source of these individual differences, including its role in sculpting
different personality profiles that either deviate greatly from societal norms or follow them to perfection.
What’s normal?
Much of our fascination with evil stems from the distinct impression that evildoers are anomalies. Their actions are inhuman, unimaginable, rarely witnessed, and detrimental to our species’ survival. This impression carries with it an assumption about what is expected or typical of our species, as well as what is possible. It assumes that evildoers have thoughts, feelings, and desires that fall outside of the repertoire
of an average human being. Their actions are unimaginable because most human minds lack the capacity
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