Virtual Lecture (Liberal Arts and Sciences) - Tilburg University

Group Dynamics, Peer Pressure and the Nature & Origins of Evil
Dr. Alkeline van Lenning & Dr. David Janssens

In his book 'Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Batallion 101 and the Final Solution', Christopher Browning studies the actions of a German police squad that killed thousands of Polish Jews during the Second World War. The squad consisted of ordinary men: none them were hard core Nazis, none of them were exceptionally violent, none of them had volunteered for the mission, and none of them were especially trained. And yet a majority of them quickly became ruthless and efficient killers. How, Browning, asks, was this possible?

In this lecture, we analyze Browning's account and look at his findings from the perspective of social sciences and of philosophy. What does the case tell us about group dynamics and peer pressure, as well as about the nature and the origins of evil?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Liberal Arts
• Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Liberal Arts & Sciences
• Tilburg University
• UvT
• Universiteit van Tilburg
• Bachelor's program
• Bachelor's programme
• BA
• Alkeline van Lenning
• David Janssens
• virtual lecture
• virtual class

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