Diandra Maria Pânișoară
ethics and morality, only of subsistence and survival. However, relatively new studies show that animals have a moral sense. In this case we must understand the human and animal to better analyze the possible source of evil (general or made by humanity) so I would like to turn our attention to Harlow’s 1958 experiment. He took some baby monkeys after their birth and placed them with the “mothers”, one made of soft cloth material and the other made of hard wire. There were two different stages in this study, the one in which the mother made of wires fed the monkeys and the one in which the mother made of cloth fed them. Even when they relied on the mother made of hard material for subsistence, they mostly preferred the cloth one. It turned out that the monkeys had the feeling of security and freedom when they were with the soft, mother that brought them physical comfort. In Harlow’s studies, there have been a number of reproaches: placed in conditions of isolation or even with an insecure attachment, these subjects become shy, unsociable, and unsuitable as parents (especially the females). Thus, it is plausible that we humans have also been taught with this attachment behavior that now comes naturally to us, as well the possible construct of evil and mischievous behavior. Mischievous behavior is a combination of certain factors that we are born with and personal experiences of our own. The structure of evolution contributes to the good and evil done by humans and possibly by animals in certain contexts. This furthermore drives us to the fundamental uncertainty of nature or nurture that implacably makes us put our free will in question. Whether or not humans are responsible for evil we can have a number of doubts and theories, among which there are: the non-existence of God, free will (perverted by an embodiment of evil) which is the most common explanation of generalized and human evil in religions such as Christianity or the neglect or disregard of such a God. In Enlightenment Zeitgeist, it was believed that human beings are stuck in the middle, that we were not or ever will be completely evil or completely good.
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