I think the twentieth century should have taught us how 'civilisation' is the thinnest of veneers. I was reading something last year where a state torturer said it would only take him about two weeks to 'train' any one of us to willingly do the same job.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author argues that civilization is fragile and humans can easily be trained to commit atrocities.
- In plain terms
- We think we are civilized but we can easily learn to be cruel.
- What can you take from it?
- Civilization is thin; human cruelty is learnable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How stable is our morality?
- Can anyone be trained to do harm?
Another view
Many people resist becoming perpetrators of violence despite pressure.
More from John Scott
I suppose everything about one's self is recontextualised in an alien environment.
Permalink to quote #3 If I had the luxury of working as a full time writer, I think you would see novels appearing on a much more regular, and frequent, basis.
Permalink to quote #5 I have a backlog of novels which I would love to be working on and would be working on if I were not obliged to hold down a full time job.
Permalink to quote #2
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