M. Scott Peck's Analysis of Human Evil: a Critical Review

Abstract

This article brings critical attention to M. Scott Peck's (1983) analy-sis of both individual and collective human evil, as presented in his The People of the Lie. Overlooked by some psychologists and others because of its religious associations, Peck's account stands up well as a psychological analysis that explains evil character structure as both a form of narcissistic personality disorder and a moral break-down, or perversion, of conscience. Concepts of denial, scapegoating, threatened narcissism, lying, self-deception, and cover-up, in Peck's account, illuminate in parallel ways both individual and collective evil. Perennial questions, such as how ordinary persons come to perpetuate extraordinary evil, the genesis of evil character, and whether human evil can be healed, are explored by comparing Peclks views with those of other writers.