Cambridge psychopathology professor Simon Baron-Cohen has investigated psychology and autism for decades and has developed a new brain-based theory of human cruelty.
However, going beyond developmental psychology, he examines social and environmental factors that can erode empathy, including neglect and abuse. Borderline personality disorder, autism, narcissism, psychosis and Asperger's syndrome all have one thing in common: a lack of empathy.
In his new book "The Science of Evil," Baron-Cohen examines how in some cases, the absence of empathy can be dangerous, and in others, it can simply mean a different way of seeing the world.
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What are the root causes of cruel behavior? If lack of empathy leads to cruelty, should we pay more attention to its origins?
Guest:
Simon Baron-Cohen, author of "The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty"; Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge