Образ человека будущего, Том 7 (СИ)

One of the main directions of the scientific and philosophical studies of the problem of Evil is linked to existential psychoanalysis of Viktor Frankl. In fact, secular existentialism with its stoical pathos overall gave in to the Absurdity of the 20th century and did not succeed, in our opinion, in understanding and overcoming the Evil matter. However, Frankl"s logotherapy is quite different - it comes from the determination of the scientist to survive in the Evil laboratory (a concentration camp) and has probably become the most thorough and productive of all the attempts to tackle intellectually "the defiance of Auschwitz."

Speaking about purely scientific approaches to the consideration of Evil in the 20th century, first it is necessary to note some kind of "stiffness" of the very formulation. As it is considered to be, science is not engaged in studying Evil: that is the destiny of theology, art, and philosophy as a last resort. Science investigates problems. A similar approach at once splits up a colossus of Evil into a set of such problems - the objects of study are as follows: "inequality problem", "crime problem", "xenophobia problem", "unadaptation problem", etc. There are certain advantages connected with transition from the general reasoning to knowledge and technologies, but disadvantages do also exist. The main one is connected with the risk of losing a valuable position of a scientist when the ruthless attempts of decision-making are allowed due to the impersonal analytics of problems, such as abortions, promotion of debauchery (for example, in the form of support of LGBT communities) or euthanasia. Another drawback is the "erosion of Evil" which conceals itself behind particular problems that seem much less acute than "Evil" in all severity of their perception.

Meantime, some scientists have come rather close to what could be called the scientific research of Evil. These include first and foremost the works of social psychologists Stanley

Future Human Image. Volume 7, 2017 41

Evil as a Subject of Sociological Cognition: Methodological Reflections by Temyr Khagurov

Milgram and Philip Zimbardo - the creators of perhaps the most famous and controversial psychological experiments of the 20th century. Zimbardo"s experiment to simulate a prison sentence at Stanford University [Zimbardo, 2000; Zimbardo, 2013] as well as destructive subordination research at Yale University conducted by Milgram [Milgram, 2000] in a quite scientific way allowed to reveal the "ordinariness of Evil." Its carriers can easily become "ordinary people" - the participants in their experiments. Despite the abundance of the results interpretations of their experiments, the main outcome is apparently the results themselves, which are the following: Evil is present in every one of us and easily manifests itself in appropriate conditions, exposing the fragility of our morals that seem untouched in everyday life. This should not deprive us of courage and hope in the fight against Evil, but, of course, should be a reminder of the fact that Evil must be taken seriously.

In sociology, the most profound examples of research that we used to name "Evil" in daily life refer, in the first place, to the name of Pitirim A. Sorokin (his analytics of "sensual culture" is a perfect example of "sociological theory of Evil") [Sorokin, 1992]. Then the works of Robert King Merton [Merton, 1992], Charles Wright Mills [Mills, 1959] and Edwin M. Shur [Shur, 1977] are to be mentioned, which are dedicated to the study of war, crime and inequality - the most obvious forms of social Evil in postwar America: "The problem of war and the problem of crime show a striking similarity. The society has always had quite a strong desire to differentiate all people into those who bring evil and those who cause it. <...> This approach well corresponds to a common American approach to divide everyone into "good guys" and "bad guys." <...> Wars and crimes have always existed. However, unlike in the past, in both cases the behavior deviating from the accepted standard now seems uncontrollable" [Shur, 1977:13-14].