Question

Please help with my homework?

Answer 1

In your writing, make sure your respond to Zimbardo's TedTalk on the psychology of evil. (Links to an external site.)and the notes you took while watching it, not a general idea you have about good and evil.

In a well-developed paragraph that includes a claim, evidence, analysis and a 'so what', agree or disagree with Zimbardo's concluding thought.

Agree/Disagree: “The line between good and evil lies at the center of every human heart. It is not an abstraction out there. It’s a decision you have to make every day in here.”

Before you begin, you might consider:

According to Zimbardo, the perpetrators of the abuses at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq “didn’t go in there with sadistic tendencies, this is not part of their whole lifestyle, they are not serial murderers and torturers.” Rather, they were transformed into perpetrators of evil by their situation.

Zimbardo argues that "We imagine a line between good and evil and we like to believe that it’s impermeable. [T]he bad people never will become good, and the good never will become bad. I’ll say... that’s nonsense... that line is … permeable. t could allow some ordinary people like you to become perpetrators of evil.” Zimbardo asserts that ones ability to commit evil acts has to do with the perception of responsibility. Zimbardo reports that “If you can diffuse responsibility, so people don’t feel individually accountable, now they will do things that they ordinarily say ‘I would never do that.’” Zimbardo has evidence to back up that claim. Tips: Do not include yourself in the paragraph ("I think" or "I believe") Make sure the topic sentence is a clear claim that addresses the prompt, no wishy-washy Remember to explain your evidence in terms of how it functions/ supports your claim Use transitions to connect and develop your ideas