Research Paper Objectives, Requirements, and Instructions Learning Objectives: Students will demonstrate their ability to construct arguments about issues of both personal and universal significance.

El Hajj Malik El Shabazz

Professor : Dr. Howard

Philosophy (PHIL) 130 1

4 January 202 5

“The Frivolity of Evil”

In today’s society , we see the many forms evil can take. From violent murders to petty

thievery, it seems as if evil is spreading faster than ever before. In his essay, “The Frivolity of

Evil” Theodore Dalrymple argues that the actions and choices people make throughout their lives

cause not only the continuous cycle of evil to spread throughout society but is also the direct

cause of people’s unhappiness (Dalrymple, p. 156) . Critics may disagree with Dalrymple’s

claims, calling them nihilistic in nature and harmfully stereot yping people in disadvantageous

positions. These claims are not without fault as Dalrymple is shown to at times seemingly

disregard several outside factors that may contribute to the patient’s circumstances. However, I

feel as if these arguments are taken out of context from the entire passage. While critical of

adverse actions that are detrimental to society, he’s compassionate to an individual’s misfortune.

Ultimately, I agree that people are responsible for ensuring their actions avoid causing harm to

themselves, and most importantly, the rest of society.

Dalrymple has spent over 14 years of his career working in the British slums with both

perpetrators and victims of crimes of violence. As a result, he has seen many evils that have

become commonplace, which in itself is a cause for concern. For instance, one of his patients

was a young 21 -year -old woman who “swallowed an overdose of her antidepressants and then

called an ambulance” ( Dalrymple, p. 157). During their consultation , she claimed to have been El Shabazz -2

suffering from depression. However, upon further discussion , Dalrymple concluded that she was

not depressed, but instead was unhappy with her current circumstances in life. At 21, she

“already had three children by three different men” ( Dalrymple, p. 157). Her first boyfriend

physically abused her , the second was a career criminal, and the final father was a man much

older than her. However, this cycle of abuse had long been planted when her father abandoned

the family resulting in her mother having several relationships with men much younger than her.

It was one of these boyfriends that resulted in her living on her own where she met the first

father of her child at 16, thus continuing the cycle. Dalrymple concedes that while her mother

had failed to protect her when she was vulnerable, she now has also perpetuated evil for her

“refusal to take seriously and act upon the signs that she saw and the knowledge that she had was

not the consequence of b lindness and ignorance. It was utterly willful ” (Dalrymple, p . 159).

Although unintentional, she and her children now have a higher risk of emotional and physical

abuse all the while facing social stigmatization and economic hardships on a single income. For

this reason, the British welfare system decided that no child, regardless of their circumstances,

should be deprived of basic necessities to live. They provided aid to single mothers in the form

of financial support for rent and utilities. However, this unintentionally absolves both parents

from the gui lt and sha me of abandoning their families and being unable to provide for them. The

welfare state inadvertently rewards the lifestyle of the parents without having to reflect on how

their actions and choices will negatively impact them.

I agree with Dalrymple’s argument that our unhappiness results from our actions which

inadvertently allows evil to spread throughout society and continue the cycle. I have witnessed

the dangers of willful ignorance and the impact it has on innocent bystanders firsthand. Everyone

has different experiences that shape who they become in life. Most ly everyone I’ve encountered El Shabazz -3

are amicable people, who while not perfect, try their best to be accountable for their lives.

However, even they have lapses that either intentional or not have caused evil to harm those they

care for. In extreme cases , they ignore any warnings or advice from those around them, spiraling

deeper into their vices. In addition to previous experiences, Dalrymple has provided evidence to

support his claims. His use of statistics on the rise of crimes per inhabitant helped to cement the

fact that something was sh ifting in recent generations. However, what appealed to me most was

his recollections of testimonies from previous sessions with patients. His examples highlighted

how people can be aware that the consequences of their decisions will harm themselves and

loved ones, but still decide to go through with them. Instead of taking accountability and

reflecting on their actions, they disguise their unhappiness as depression, implying that “one’s

state of mind…should be independent of the way that one lives one’s life, [depriving] human

existence of all meaning, [by] radically disconnecting reward from conduct” ( Arandia , p. 157).

He thoroughly explains how the welfare state and the inactions of intellectuals and politicians

harm society by rewarding decisions that have a negative impact, in such a way that even with no

prior knowledge I can easily grab the concepts and compar e them to my own experiences.

Throughout the winter semester, we have covered many philosophers and read similar

insights to Dalrymple ’s. For instance, Thomas Hobbes shared similar beliefs that humanity was

motivated by self -interest. He argued that “human beings enter into society not out of mutual

goodwill or fellow feeling, but out of the mutual fear they have of each other” (Arandia , Chapter

7). Both Hobbes and Dalrymple recognize the potential atrocities humanity is capable of ,

believ ing we are predisposed to “evil” , with Hobbes’ theorizing it is our state of nature. They

both seemingly agr ee that a social contract is needed to control potential violence that may arise.

This can only be done by a strong authority that, while not tyrannical, still has clear laws to El Shabazz -4

enforce order. Another philosopher that helps support Dalrymple would be Plato and his

“Allegory of the Cave .” Dalrymple’s patients for instance would rather feign ignorance of the

consequences of their choices . Plato realizes that when people are deeply rooted in their

ignorance, they refuse to see reason, “turning instead toward the comfortable darkness ”

(Arandia , Cha pter 1) . Both patients and prisoner s “[do ] not exit the cave of his o n his own

initiative…he must be dragged away by force ” (Arandia , C hapter 1). Dalrymple fills this role,

attempting to aid people in acknowledging real ity.

By the end of the readings , we are given enough evidence to understand the relationship

between unhappiness in a person’s life and the actions that led to the consequences. Delving

further, we see the negative effects this has on society and innocent bystanders. Not only that, but

we can apply our information to previous chapters and make thorough connections. Although

subject to controversy, Dalrymple ’s findings ar e conclus ive enough to have my support.

El Shabazz -5

Works Cited

Arandia, Marco s. “Chapter 1-Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. ” Philosophy and the Good Life: A

Text for Beginners . (3rd ed. ) Dubuque, IA Kendall Hunt Publishing , 2016. eBook.

Arandia, Marco s. “Chapter 7-Thomas Hobbes ”. Philosophy and the Good Life: A Text for

Beginners . ( 3rd ed. ) Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing , 2016. eBook.

Dalrymple, Theodore. “The Frivolity of Evil ” in Philosophy and the Good Life: A Text for

Beginners by Marcos Arandia . (3rd ed ) Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing , 2016 . Pp. 155 -

161. eBook .