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A review by crybabybea
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty by Simon Baron-Cohen
informative
medium-paced
3.25
First of all, the title for this felt a bit sensationalized. It's not necessarily about "the science of evil" as I expected, but really about how different types of empathy are measured and the research that has gone into empathy. Because of this, the writing is very scientific, which might be inaccessible to some readers. As a casual reader, I did feel like some parts really droned on or like the author got a bit lost in complicated terminology. The information and details were of course relevant but at times hard to keep up with as somebody who is not a scientist but is actually a slightly dumb person trying to learn more.
Reading in 2025, a lot of information did feel outdated. BUT in spite of that, I feel like I have to acknowledge that Simon Baron-Cohen's work is incredibly influential to how we understand personality disorders and autism in 2025. I didn't realize going into this that he and his colleagues invented the EQ, which is still used to diagnose specific disorders and to understand differing empathy levels in people with certain disorders. This research was still new in 2011, and in 2025 is still being researched further, so of course some things felt a bit outdated, or some ideas felt not fully realized.
With all that being said, I do still feel like this book was worth the time, although it wasn't mind-blowing or perspective-shifting, Baron-Cohen still presented some interesting ideas that helped paint a larger picture in understanding psychology. I think understanding empathy as a nuanced, sliding scale is really important in changing how one views the world as a whole, and in understanding people's ability to change. I agree with the general idea that labelling people as "evil" does more harm than good, and takes away from actual nuanced discussions that could be taking place.
I also have to say I was really surprised by the abolitionist ending. After everything talked about in this book, the author took a very firm stance against heavy punishments such as the death penalty, and also talked about alternatives to prison when it comes to people who suffer from empathy-impairing disorders, even if those empathy impairments lead to horrible crimes taking place. In 2025 this opinion is still controversial so I was certainly impressed to see a hard stance taken in 2011.
Reading in 2025, a lot of information did feel outdated. BUT in spite of that, I feel like I have to acknowledge that Simon Baron-Cohen's work is incredibly influential to how we understand personality disorders and autism in 2025. I didn't realize going into this that he and his colleagues invented the EQ, which is still used to diagnose specific disorders and to understand differing empathy levels in people with certain disorders. This research was still new in 2011, and in 2025 is still being researched further, so of course some things felt a bit outdated, or some ideas felt not fully realized.
With all that being said, I do still feel like this book was worth the time, although it wasn't mind-blowing or perspective-shifting, Baron-Cohen still presented some interesting ideas that helped paint a larger picture in understanding psychology. I think understanding empathy as a nuanced, sliding scale is really important in changing how one views the world as a whole, and in understanding people's ability to change. I agree with the general idea that labelling people as "evil" does more harm than good, and takes away from actual nuanced discussions that could be taking place.
I also have to say I was really surprised by the abolitionist ending. After everything talked about in this book, the author took a very firm stance against heavy punishments such as the death penalty, and also talked about alternatives to prison when it comes to people who suffer from empathy-impairing disorders, even if those empathy impairments lead to horrible crimes taking place. In 2025 this opinion is still controversial so I was certainly impressed to see a hard stance taken in 2011.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Rape, Violence, Murder
Minor: Confinement, Torture