What force motivates terrible cruelty without conscience?

Question

It is terribly difficult for me to even begin to understand what motivates humans to practice cruelty. Especially the ones that have a habit of terrorizing and abusing awsome, sweet caring loving persons.

Answer 1

The intoxicating effect of sadistic pleasure to which an individual gets habituated and can not be without committing the act of cruelty.
I don't know what would you term it in Psychology.

Answer 2

Good question. And if anyone had the full answer they'd be extremely powerful and quite rich, I'd think.

I believe that cruelty is the same as intolerance which leads to war.

And I believe what underlies intolerance is fear.

Fear of the unknown and the rejection of the feeling of fear are the driving forces for the baser human characteristics.

You are speaking about a specific incident from what I can tell. Perhaps a more specific answer applies but generalised as it is- fear is what causes people to hate enough to be cruel and to kill etc.

Answer 3

Remember, humans are animals and those that act as such are acting from the "old" brain, the animal nature. The examples of such are the "fight or flight" actions, or involuntary reactions of blushing, sweating under pressure. Those individuals tap into that reaction to kill, maim or torture others. Therefore, the act without conscience taps into the old brain.

Higher thought, i.e., reason, creativity, logic are products of the "new" brain, or as Lincoln said, "the better angels of our nature." the new brain is the more "recently" developed.

The act of rape is not based solely on sexual urges, but the urge to dominate and revile the victim. Terrorism is the act to instill, with sudden, unsuspecting violence, the dominance of a more powerful individual(s) over the unsuspecting.

It is human nature for one to dominate and for the other, less powerful or weaker to accede to the will. That is why we have prisons to remove those types that have committed criminal acts from the general population.

Answer 4

Deliberate cruelty requires two things - intense, repressed anger, and a feeling of disconnectedness or disenfranchisement from society. That sounds, possibly, like a lot of psychological hoo ha, but it's not. It's quite true and very significant.

We've all seen people who repress their anger, usually cause they were ordered to as a child. That is as dangerous and corrosive to a person as not letting them urinate. Then, after a time of that, they are so angry that in order not to explode, they have to begin to shut down their feelings in general, so they do. Then they lose the life saving bonds of social contact with others, which only spirals them further into rage and rage and rage, with no social outlet for it. No one can suffer that intense pressure indefinitely, so sooner or later they lash out, which only makes them feel more alone, more ugly, and more enraged. It is a desperate horrible spiral for them to get into, and you better know what you are doing if you attempt to rescue someone like that, cause they'll tear your heart out - not because they want to, or hate you, but - for the reasons given.

The only cure for them is going to be a very strong, accepting, emotional environment - preferably a hospital setting, with a very strong and competent and loving therapist. But I have seen people rescued from that place. It can be done but it does take a massive, well-organised, and professional campaign.

Answer 5

This is the most important question of humankind, but there is probably no real answer. If we knew, would it help? Sometimes there's nothing in existence to treat these evil ones. I think they are already dead, and just moving around in space and time with nothing to pretend they're alive but damaging others. I oppose the death penalty because of the awfulness of killing people who didn't do the crime, but death is the only thing they want if guilty and convicted. We should give this to them, if we have any compassion to victims, to prison guards, and to them.

Answer 6

It is not a "force" that motivates people to be cruel without conscience it is their own choice. There is no outside or internal force that makes them do these things, they simply choose to do them to inflict harm because it pleases them to do so in the same way that doing good pleases some people.

Answer 7

These are people that have lost all love, and hate for others, if they ever had any. What they harbor is indifference, and a revenge mind set, driven by morbid curiosity, and rage frenzy, unlike hate. Strange is that this condition can erupt out of deep depression.

Answer 8

Cruelty comes from spiritual influences which certain humans are subjected to by their thought patterns.

Answer 9

Mental illness, brain injury, or just basic depravity. Many abusers claim to have been victims of abuse themselves, which you would think might make them more compassionate. I don't think there is any single answer

Answer 10

You should read books by John Douglas. Crazy stuff. Terrible, terrible people. Basically, they do it because they LIKE it. It's their thing. It's what they are.