torpid evil which lies latent in the depths of the human animal, it is
an evil which can scarcely be called evil.




THE ROOT OF DISINTERESTED EVIL


Tell a man that an intimate friend has met with a great misfortune. His
first impulse is one of satisfaction. He himself is not aware of it
clearly, he does not realize it; nevertheless, essentially his emotion
is one of satisfaction. This man may afterward place his fortune, if he
has one, at the disposition of his friend, yes, even his life; yet this
will not prevent his first conscious reaction upon learning of the
misfortune of his friend, from being one which, although confused, is
nevertheless not far removed from pleasure. This feeling of
disinterested malice may be observed in the relations between parents
and children as well as in those between husbands and wives. At times it
is not only disinterested, but counter-interested.

The lack of a name for this background of disinterested malice, which
does exist, is due to the fact that psychology is not based so much upon
phenomena as it is upon language.

According to our current standards, latent evil of this nature is
neither of interest nor significance. Naturally, the judge takes account
of nothing but deeds; to religion, which probes more deeply, the intent
is of importance; to the psychologist, however, who attempts to
penetrate still further, the elemental germinative processes of volition