The human capacity for destructiveness is often referred to as humanity's "dark side." In this book, prominent writers share different, sometimes opposing views on humanity's dark side and consider how these views impact their clinical practice.

By the spring of 1945, the Second World War was drawing to a close in Europe. Allied troops were sweeping through Nazi Germany and discovering the atrocities of SS concentration camps. The first to be reached intact was Buchenwald, in central Germany. American soldiers struggled to make sense of the shocking scenes they witnessed inside. They asked a small group of former inmates to draft a report on the camp. It was led by Eugen Kogon, a German political prisoner who had been an inmate since 1939. The Theory and Practice of Hell is his classic account of life inside. Unlike many other books by survivors who published immediately after the war, The Theory and Practice of Hell is more than a personal account. It is a horrific examination of life and death inside a Nazi concentration camp, a brutal world of a state within state, and a society without law. But Kogon maintains a dispassionate and critical perspective. He tries to understand how the camp works, to uncover its structure and social organization. He knew that the book would shock some readers and provide others with gruesome fascination. But he firmly believed that he had to show the camp in honest, unflinching detail. The result is a unique historical document—a complete picture of the society, morality, and politics that fueled the systematic torture of six million human beings. For many years, The Theory and Practice of Hell remained the seminal work on the concentration camps, particularly in Germany. Reissued with an introduction by Nikolaus Waschmann, a leading Holocaust scholar and author of Hilter's Prisons, this important work now demands to be re-read.

Audible Best Seller of 2017 Inc. 11 Great Business Books New York Magazine Best Psychology Books LinkedIn's 12 Books on Leadership to Read Two mavericks in the field of positive psychology deliver a timely message Happiness experts have long told us to tune out our negative emotions and focus instead on mindfulness, positivity, and optimism. Researchers Todd Kashdan, Ph.D., and Robert Biswas-Diener, Dr. Philos., disagree. Positive emotions alone are not enough. Anger makes us creative, selfishness makes us brave, and guilt is a powerful motivator. The real key to success lies in emotional agility. Drawing upon extensive scientific research and a wide array of real-life examples, The Upside of Your Dark Side will be embraced by business leaders, parents, and everyone else who’s ready to put their entire psychological tool kit to work.

The author offers exploration of self and practical guidance dealing with the dark side of personality based on Jung's concept of "shadow," or the forbidden and unacceptable feelings and behaviors each of us experience.

Argues that schadenfreude is a normal human emotion, looking at its roots in feelings of justice, positive sense of self, and concern with inferiority.

An expert in criminology and psychology uses science to understand evil in today’s society. What is it about evil that we find so compelling? From our obsession with serial killers to violence in pop culture, we seem inescapably drawn to the stories of monstrous acts and the aberrant people who commit them. But evil, Dr. Julia Shaw argues, is largely subjective. What one may consider normal, like sex before marriage, eating meat, or working on Wall Street, others find abhorrent. And if evil is only in the eye of the beholder, can it be said to exist at all? In Evil, Shaw uses an engrossing mix of science, popular culture, and real-life examples to break down timely and provocative issues. How similar is your brain to a psychopath’s? How many people have murder fantasies? Can artificial intelligence be evil? Do your sexual proclivities make you a bad person? Who becomes a terrorist? If you could travel back in time, would you kill baby Hitler? In asking these questions, Shaw urges readers to discover empathy and to rethink and reshape what it means to be bad. Evil is a wide-ranging exploration into a fascinating, darkly compelling subject from wickedly smart and talented writer. Praise for Evil “A brilliant panorama that elucidates humanity’s dark side. . . . This science-based foundation for studying the minds of sadists, mass murderers, freaks and creeps, as well the new role of tech in promoting evil is presented in a totally engaging fashion.” —Philip Zimbardo, PhD; Professor Emeritus, Stanford University; author of The Lucifer Effect “This overview of various kinds of aberrant behavior grouped under the umbrella term evil is well backed up by the expertise of Shaw. . . . Shaw’s work will be particularly appropriate for college and high school libraries for its sober-minded, academically rigorous examination of an oft-sensationalized subject.” —Publishers Weekly “Capably written with a smooth mix of scientific insight and theoretical thought, the book will hopefully inspire empathy and understanding rather than hysteria and condemnation. A consistently fascinating journey into the darker sides of the human condition that will push on the boundaries of readers’ comfort zones.” —Kirkus Reviews

Ghiglieri (anthropology, U. of Northern Arizona) provides a wide- ranging description of what makes men and women fundamentally different, in both body and behavior, arguing that male violence is largely innate and that only policies based on the biological underpinnings of human behavior can limit social violence. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Many consider empathy to be the basis of moral action. However, the ability to empathize with others is also a prerequisite for deliberate acts of humiliation and cruelty. In The Dark Sides of Empathy, Fritz Breithaupt contends that people often commit atrocities not out of a failure of empathy but rather as a direct consequence of over-identification and a desire to increase empathy. Even well-meaning compassion can have many unintended consequences, such as intensifying conflicts or exploiting others. Empathy plays a central part in a variety of highly problematic behaviors. From mere callousness to terrorism, exploitation to sadism, and emotional vampirism to stalking, empathy all too often motivates and promotes malicious acts. After tracing the development of empathy as an idea in German philosophy, Breithaupt looks at a wide-ranging series of case studies—from Stockholm syndrome to Angela Merkel's refugee policy and from novels of the romantic era to helicopter parents and murderous cheerleader moms—to uncover how narcissism, sadism, and dangerous celebrity obsessions alike find their roots in the quality that, arguably, most makes us human.

And one day ... we just laugh of our fears: I met Dana maybe 15 years ago. We've worked together on a project. But ... the project delayed so, so much ... that we ended up becoming friends. Easy... easy ... we've started to talk about lots of things ... especially our lives. ... even details ... which had to do with intimacy. We lost contact ... by already few years ... but something still reminds me of her. She was the first woman .... which telling me her life ... made me understand the woman. You see ... firstly she was married with a guy in Norway. ... a wealthy guy. Unfortunately ... he was treating her very bad in there. She was cheated. Manipulated. Offended. And ... actually husband saw her more as a slave than a wife. One night she left from that beautiful mansion which meant for her ... only a hell ... with a plastic bag with few things in it. Abandoned the husband. ... but also her child. Most certainly ... the experience itself was horrible ... that Dana could abandon her daughter in there. And ... to be honest... hearing this story ... even if we were friends at that time ... I've started to judge her. I was thinking ... "what type of person is Dana ... if she could abandon her child?! Why she left alone?! Why she didn't took her child also?!" I had lots of questions into my mind ... but maybe the fears made her act like that. And ... the Universe acted nice with her .... cause later on she found a new man. Again .... a wealthy guy. They had a good business in Paris. ... a beautiful 600 sqm house with swimming pool and garage. 2 Porsches. Short story ... all a couple could dream. Somehow ... the story was repeated. She was living the same experience again .... but this time she really had the life she thought she will have first time when she married. But ... again ... Dana surprised me with her perceptions. After being cheated many, many times ... in the first marriage .... Dana asked to her second husband to swear in front of God ... that he will never cheat on her. ... somehow believing him ... that all will be different than her first marriage. But one day ... Dana told me something that really changed.... my whole perceptions about the woman. It was a long talk. We've spoke on the phone that day maybe 2-3 hours. Somehow ... laughing .... she said ... "I've spoken recently with my husband ... and i've just told him... that if he will ever cheat on me ... i just want him to ... use a condom." I said ... "What?!" "Yes. It might happen. In France ... things like that can happen. I simply .... changed my mind. I know it can happen ... and my only request was to use a condom ... so that i don't get infected with ... a disease." I could not believe it. But ... at that time ... i was too busy to analyse all that ... in micro details. It was funny ... how she changed her perceptions. Extremely funny. Most probably ... she became realistic. Extremely realistic. And ... wise. Or maybe ... she allowed her husband ... what she started to adore doing. Flirting. Tasting energies. Connecting to new souls. ... without believing that this is something bad. But ... being realistic enough ... she knew that playing this game ... it might all end up ... as cheating. So ... she was into that point ... when she knew that ... we all have a dark side. Including her husband. Including herself ... but even if the marriage was nice ... that didn't necessarily meant that betrayal could not happen. I was just listening her ... for hours. And ... indeed I've learnt a lot from her ... but still ... even today ... when i analyse all a lot ... i can't agree with such obviously real case scenarios. Cause ... i am not a open minded person. I am ... too utopian. In my beliefs. In my actions. In my writings. In ... all. Maybe .... Dana was for me a great teacher ... but ... i am indeed ... a stupid student ... at this school of life.