Renée Fuller, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2008 by Renée Fuller

     Stan was a bully. There was no question about it. His classmates had learned to do their best to stay out of reach of his voice, his fists, and even his boots. Mrs. Kirkpatrick, the principal, was all too familiar with Stan's bullying. He had been sent to her office on numerous occasions, each time for a progressively more outrageous offense against his fellow classmates. And worse, he even bullied the substitute teacher Mrs. Armstrong, who was in a fragile state ever since her husband had been sent overseas as part of his National Guard duty.

     Stan had been punished numerous times in numerous ways for his bullying. He had been suspended. His parents had been called in for a conference. Mrs. Kirkpatrick had gone out of her way to talk to Stan about the moral implications of bullying. Nothing had worked, including the beatings he received at home following each suspension, and even the especially severe beating after the conference call from and with the school principal. However, rather than decreasing Stan's bullying, the various intervention approaches instead of diminishing only exacerbated the despicable behavior.

     "Is Stan a doomed, a lost soul?" was the question the principal, Mrs. Kirkpatrick asked me. "I've tried everything I can think of; from punishments such as suspension, to having him stay after school, to telling him that he was much too nice a person to do such mean things. We called in his parents to see if they could reach Stan. Nothing has worked. If anything the more we all tried to reach Stan, to help him, the worse he became."

     "From your description it almost sounds as though Stan got a kick out of the furor he's managed to raise. Does that fit your impression?" I ended up with asking.

     "Yes. I hadn't thought of it that way. But come to think of it, that is how he comes across: as though he's having a great time getting us all wound up as well as having his classmates terrified of him. Crazy as it sounds, it does look like Stan not only enjoys his bullying but also that he feels it's making him into a big shot."

     I nodded thinking 'of course.' Then, "What would happen if you pointed out to Stan that he's letting all the world know that he's a stupid jerk. You might be able to reach him by telling him; 'Only a stupid jerk would set things up so there's no way he's going to have a future. You, Stan, are setting things up so that nobody will be willing to work with you, that means hire you, because no one wants to have you around. For the pleasure of the moment, for a moment of fun, you're demonstrating how stupid you are. You're convincing people that you're a dim wit, that you're weak in the head. Only someone real idiotic would be doing what you've been doing. You don't really want everyone to believe you're not too swift in the head when between you and me you've got the smarts not to be a dimwit. Being an idiot is no way to be a big shot. Life's already punishing you for your stupidity. But in spite of all the contempt from the people around you, in spite of being punished for it, you continue to act like a dim wit, like you're real stupid. You just don't get the basics of how the world's put together: something your classmates figured out long ago. Now, if you really want to be a big shot. . ."

     The principal laughed. "You know, we just plain failed to realize it. What with the school staff giving him all this attention we've treated Stan, bad as he was, and because he was so bad, as though he really was a big shot. And that was stupid on our part. For as soon as Stan's out in the rest of the world people won't go out of their way the way our school administration has. The rest of the world will be like his classmates. They'll reject him: in effect punish him. They may even come to the conclusion that he's dangerous – if he keeps up escalating his present course of action. And you're right. They'll think he's just plain stupid, slow in the head, since he doesn't get it that it's he who's paying the real price for his sadistic, for his outrageous acting-out behavior."

     It took the rest of the school staff some time to turn around their previous punitive responses to Stan's vicious bullying. Several of the staff were sure that Stan's bullying arose out of feelings of inferiority. And therefore building up the youngster's "ego" would be the way to go. But after Mrs. Kirkpatrick finally succeeded in convincing most of her staff that it was worth trying the new approach to Stan's outrageous behavior there was a gradual reduction in Stan's bullying. "See, it's beginning to work." was the principal's pleased exclamation to her staff. "Pointing out to Stan that he's showing off what a stupid idiot he's been is more effective than our previous punitive measures. This approach really reaches him."

     But something very important was still bothering the principal. When we met sometime later Mrs. Kirkpatrick described a deep-felt reservation she continued to have about Stan, despite the ameliorating of his bullying behavior. "You know what really bothers me is that Stan has no concept of morality. For that matter he has absolutely no desire to be a good, a decent person. Nor does he appreciate it when people are nice to him. He doesn't understand what goodness is about. If anything, I think he rather despises goodness seeing it as a form of weakness."

     We had a lengthy talk about the development of morality and what it means for the continued existence, the survival of us humans. How even among wolves if there is one among them who doesn't act in the helpful manner they expect of each other, the rest of the pack rejects the "immoral" wolf. That wolf is forced to be a loner. The rest of the pack may even kill him. Supporting each other, being helpful as well as protective functions for the survival of many species. As Darwin pointed out, morality among many animal species as well as our own developed because it meant that the species could prosper and survive. If everyone acted like Stan, we humans wouldn't have survived to tell the tale.

     At that point in our discussion the principal shook her head: "But then how come there's so much cruel and destructive behavior if it threatens the survival of us humans? And how about some of our immoral weapons of war? Doesn't their immorality threaten our very existence?" At that point Mrs. Fitzgerald answered her own question with "And indeed those weapons do threaten our very existence."

     The technological weapon brinkmanship, which threatens our present survival, is not altogether new. Its dangers were already apparent in the major human-created warfare devastations that have repeatedly taken place in the history of mankind. As recently as the middle of the last century it brought forth an anti-Christian dictator adored by many if not most of his compatriots. Under this Hitler dictatorship the schools were instructed to teach their charges the religion of their German ancestors who had been "free of the weaknesses of doing good." It is indeed instructive that the eventual price for the stupidity of Hitler's evil was paid by Germany being devastated, leaving it in ruins: when it had been a nation once considered a star of human development.

     The recounting of these dangerous human conflagrations and their implications pervade as warnings not only in our religions but also in the surprising psychological subtlety of some of our myths. In the Satan myth the devil pays the horrendous price for his destructive deeds by having to spend eternity in hell, a truly horrendous place with its everlasting pain. So what is evil's attraction? What is its lure, its fascination, even at times its charisma, when the price it extracts is so high?

     Recent brain research has given us part of the answer. The various neuro-imaging techniques have shown how destructive acting-out behavior is all to often accompanied by a positive response in the pleasure centers of our brain. Although the perpetrators of destruction may deny their deep-felt satisfaction, and even their enjoyment in acts of violence, it is these pleasurable experiences that make destructive behavior rewarding, and hence self-perpetuating. The myth of Satan demonstrates a surprisingly sophisticated understanding of the pleasure aspects of destructiveness, of evil; and so Satan is frequently depicted with a "satanic grin" of enjoyment.

     Nodding in understanding Mrs. Kirkpatrick countered with, "And acts of generosity, of goodness, don't they also bring happiness and enjoyment not only to the recipient but also to the giver? These positive emotions and behavior should therefore also trigger a response in the reward, or as you described them, in the pleasure centers of our brain."

     The principal was right. Functional MRI studies have shown that do-good behaviors and generous positive emotions also register in the pleasure centers of the brain. Neuroscience research has demonstrated that the battles of good and evil instead of being merely semantic distinctions actually represent a reflection of what happens in each of our brains. Here rests the reason for the surprising similarity in the concepts of good and evil in our many different religions. With a few exceptions, our religions and credos regard pleasure in acts of destruction as evil; whereas pleasure in acts of kindness such as helping others and creating happiness for others are considered the antithesis of evil and are judged as representing good.

     A year had passed since the last get-together with Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Stan's bullying had all but stopped. But Stan still lacked what the principal referred to as an understanding of "morality." We returned to our previous discussions of good and evil and their neurophysiological representation in the brain. It struck me that Stan, now aged twelve, might be intellectually ready to understand the meaning of the neurophysiological findings. Since he had shown scientific curiosity, the brain correlates for emotions of pleasure that can accompany either destructive or constructive behavior should be of interest. The research results might also have special personal meaning for him. Could these findings produce an understanding of the roots of morality; and would that understanding have a major effect on his behavior?

     My suggestion to Mrs. Kirkpatrick went something like this: "Discuss with Stan how there are pleasure centers in our brains. Unfortunately, for many people these pleasure centers can be stimulated by destructive as well as constructive behavior. When someone is destructive with accompanying sensations of pleasure we label their behavior as evil. Remember, Stan, the kick you used to get out of bullying other kids? You were being evil. On the other hand when you do something constructive for others that also stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain. We label such actions as 'good' – the opposite of evil. The pleasure in being constructive and thereby doing 'good' is terribly important since it's responsible for our human survival. If all of us were destructive with one another we humans would have put an end to each other a long time ago. On the other hand, when we help each other in the numerous possible ways of kindness and even in the telling each other exciting and memorable stories these enhance our lives and joy in living."

     Sometime later the principal told me how Stan had reacted with interest when told about the functional MRI findings. But she thought a more concrete approach was required. So she had decided to help Stan by involving him in an interesting opportunity to be constructive, to do "good." She hoped this experience would finally introduce him to the pleasure emotions that should accompany constructive behavior: and perhaps that in this way Stan would experience the emotional meaning and feelings that accompanies true morality.

     The introduction to Stan's "doing good" that Mrs. Kirkpatrick had in mind involved having Stan teach one of the younger children he used to bully how to read. The potential student was the previous bullying target Bill, who at age ten was not only short in stature for his age but had failed abysmally with numerous remedial reading programs. In spite of months, even years, of instruction in phonemic awareness, phonic drills, etc., Bill continued to fail the tests that measured these presumed reading skills. The principal decided that the entertaining Ball-Stick-Bird, a psychologically researched teaching system that has Vad of Mars who has rockets for feet as its hero would represent an approach that would entertain would-be macho Stan as well as his projected pupil. She hoped that by giving Stan entertaining books from which to teach she could avoid his out-of-hand rejection of becoming Bill's teacher.

     As the principal told me later she decided to entice Stan into "doing good" by first showing him the books. To her surprise and delight some of the more advanced BSB readers actually produced loud and unexpected guffaws from Stan. Seeing Stan's involvement with some of these books she presented to the "reformed" bully the idea of his interceding on behalf of one of his previous victims. There was considerable resistance at first. However, after it was pointed out to Stan that by becoming Bill's teacher he'd actually become a "big shot" he reluctantly relented.

     To the dismay of most of her staff Mrs. Kirkpatrick insisted that there should be no oversight of Stan's and Bill's interaction. The teachers who had previously been involved with both Stan and Bill were concerned that, what they labeled as "mock teaching," would entice Stan into renewed bullying behavior. As it turned their fears didn't materialize. The principal had been right in her assessment. Although Bill was initially terrified in being alone with his previous terrorizer it was not long before all this changed. To the surprise of his teachers, Bill actually began to happily anticipate his teaching sessions with Stan. But even more unexpected were the adoring looks that crossed Bill's face whenever he was in Stan's presence. And then there was the reading. Unexpectedly Bill began to turn up in the school library to take out books appropriate for his age. "Is he actually reading them?" was the question raised by his teachers. They remembered only too well the years they had spent in teaching Bill phonemic awareness, phonics, etc. Could it be that bad boy Stan was succeeding where they had failed? They were especially nice teachers so they took it in stride – even if it wasn't easy - especially when the advanced reading tests showed that Bill had become an advanced reader.

"Ring around the Vooroo.
Now ends you big to-do.
Your evil can never win,
No matter how well you begin!"

     But did he really understand the true meaning of the implied morality of the ditty or did he just enjoy the amusing aspect of that Reebo song? The principal got her answer when Stan told her that his favorite book of the series was THE PURPLE WITCH. In response to the surprised "why" question the answer was: "Because it's real. It tells how:"

"There is another dimension of evil.
The most important of all.
It is the dimension of:
PLEASURE"

      Stan continued: "This is what happens in the real world: what you told me those new imaging techniques show us is going on in our brains." The astonished Mrs. Kirkpatrick expressed her surprise and delight at the success of her intervention approach. Stan had become such a changed person.

     And she was surprised when she looked up the original copyright of THE PURPLE WITCH. It was 1970. My answer was that we often know things on a gut level that eventually science confirms for us as indeed being the case. And then of course there is the power of the story. It is our capacity as a storyteller species that gives us the chance, the hope that we will soar to new heights – to true heights of morality.

     But then the principal and I wondered how come we humans can still be so destructive when our myths, our fairy tales, as well our religions reveal and warn against the horrendous price of destructiveness, of evil. It is the price that people pay for evil that makes it so stupid. Throughout the history of mankind, and even in today's news, evil has extracted its own punishment. The bigger the evil, the more horrendous is usually the price it extracts. Unfortunately when a big evil is perpetrated the bystanders also frequently end up paying a price for the stupidity of the evildoers. The neuro-science findings have given us the scientific explanation as to why the curse of the pleasure of evil continues to hang over us. Can we lift that curse from our souls – from our brains?

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