At the other end of the human spectrum from the saints lie the least free, the evil. All one can see of them… — M. Scott Peck
At the other end of the human spectrum from the saints lie the least free, the evil. All one can see of them is the mud. And it all looks the same. In Chapter 3 I offered a clinical, nosological description of the evil personality. It is extraordinary how well the evil fit the mould. Once you’ve seen one evil person, you’ve essentially seen them all. Even psychotics, whom we are accustomed to thinking of as the most seriously deranged, are more interesting. (Indeed, there is some reason to suspect that in certain cases psychosis is chosen as a preferable alternative to evil.)
Then how is it that psychiatrists have until now failed to recognize such a distinct, rigid type? It is because they have brought the pretence of respectability. They have been deceived by what Harvey M. Cleckley called ‘the mask of sanity.’ As my priest friend commented, evil is ‘the ultimate disease.’ Despite their pretence of sanity, the evil are the most insane of all.
It is to the incredibly dreary insanity of the Adolf Eichmanns of this world that Hannah Arendt was referring when she spoke of ‘the banality of evil.’ Thomas Merton put it this way:
"One of the most disturbing facts that came out in the Eichmann trial was that a psychiatrist examined him and pronounced him perfectly sane."
p. 304Source: Wikiquote · CC BY-SA 4.0
More from this book
The reality of the matter is that the naming of evil is still in a primitive stage.
p. 99
The only power that Satan has is through human belief in its lies.
p. 237
... As (Malachi) Martin points out, it is terribly important to understand that Satan is a spirit. I have said I have met Satan, and this is true. But it is not tangible in the way that matter is tangible. It no more has horns, hooves, and a forked tail than God has a long white beard. Even the name, Satan, is just a name we have given to something basically nameless... It is spirit.
p. 224
