Learning to Understand Evil

And it was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains … an unuprooted small corner of evil. – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn [1]My grandma is an unassuming lady who never raises her voice. When I was little, we played with wooden blocks and went on walks. In summer, she always gave me pocket change to buy ice cream. She let me keep a stray cat that I befriended. When I grew up, she gave me a beautiful shawl that she had worn as a young woman. That way, we would stay connected even when far apart. All my life, my grandma has shown me nothing but kindness. Yet she regularly consumes the flesh of tortured animals. How can someone so loving be so unfeeling toward animals? How can a thoughtful and self-critical lyricist be the same person responsible for Aubrey Graham's ruthless public execution? Some of the smartest, kindest people developed the atomic bomb. Others, surely as kind and smart, are now racing towards ever more powerful AI. How does any of this make sense?I thought I engaged with this question honestly. I learned about ethics, psychology, religion and history. I joined a residency on group rationality. Still, I couldn’t understand human wickedness. Maybe this wasn’t something I could solve intellectually. What else could I try? I turned to my friends for help. They listened patiently. Then one of them said–"You know, it's almost like you don't remember that you ate meat!"“He has a point,” an inner voice declared. “I acknowledge some of my wrongdoings. Sometimes, I even change how I behave. But if