Open AccessTo explain evil. Philosophical interpretation of Philip Zimbardo's Prison Experiment
Author(s) -
Joanna Gabriela Hładyłowicz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
kultura i wartości
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2299-7806
DOI - 10.17951/kw.2021.31.151-172
Subject(s) - epistemology , prison , interpretation (philosophy) , reinterpretation , argumentation theory , moral evil , philosophy , thought experiment , sociology , psychology , criminology , linguistics , aesthetics
The main problem of this paper is the issue of the evil and attempts at explaining this phenomenon. It is an analysis and reinterpretation of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo. The leading argumentation is composed of Hannah Arendt's thesis of the banality of evil and philosophy of Immanuel Kant and Paul Ricoeur. Facing the radical experiment's conclusions, questions about human free will, motives and responsibility was raised. Therefore, the main thesis of this paper is an objection against the radical postulate of social psychologists about a profound influence a situation has on our moral decisions. The conclusion leads us to assumption of the incomprehensible character of evil and a strong need to expand our ability of self-reliant thinking allowing us to make a morally right choices and to counteract evil.