Are psychopaths really born evil? Canadian psychologist says, ‘I wouldn’t kill baby Hitler’

“It’s meant to get people talking about whether they believe people are born with traits that make them capable of extreme harm, or whether those traits are shaped by society,” Shaw explained.

She went on to discuss Adolf Hitler as a case study. “Psychologists who have examined his life often ask, was he mad or bad? He did show traits like sadism and low empathy, but there’s little evidence that he was born that way,” Shaw said. “In his early life, many of those defining traits weren’t apparent. So would I go back in time and kill baby Hitler? The answer is no. I don’t think people are born evil.”

When asked about the role of nature versus nurture, Shaw cautioned against using the word evil to describe people at all. She explained that labeling someone “evil” ends meaningful conversation. “When we call someone evil, we separate them from ourselves. We stop trying to understand why they did what they did, and assume we never could.”

According to Shaw, recognising that everyone has the potential for harm is key to understanding human behavior. “We all have the capacity to commit terrible acts,” she said. “The real question isn’t why people do bad things, but why most of us choose not to.”

In closing, Shaw emphasised that empathy, even toward those who commit horrifying crimes, is essential to preventing them. Instead of labeling people as irredeemably evil, she argued, society must focus on understanding the psychological and social factors that drive such behavior, because only by understanding can we hope to stop it.