In this episode we discuss how to create evil in a research laboratory, what makes people “turn evil”, we examine the definition of heroism, dig into the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, explore time paradoxes, and much more with the legendary Dr. Philip Zimbardo. 

Dr. Zimbardo is an internationally recognized scholar, educator, researcher and media personality, winning numerous awards and honors in each of these domains. He has been a Stanford University professor since 1968, where he conducted the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. His career is noted for giving psychology away to the public through his popular PBS-TV series, Discovering Psychology, along with many text and trade books, among his 500+ publications. He was recently president of the American Psychological Association.

We discuss:

• How to create evil in a research laboratory

• The different kinds of evil

• Is there a fixed line between good and evil?

• What is the definition of heroism (and how its distinct from altruism)

• How Dr. Z defines evil (and why thats important)

• What happens when you put only good people in a really bad situation?

• The inside take on the famous Stanford Prison Experiment

• How a situation can create an emotional breakdown in a normal, healthy, smart person in less than 36 hours

• The social processes that can grease the slippery slope of evil

• How normal people can transform into monsters

• The substantial risks of dehumanization

• The power of the heroic imagination

• How teachers can bring the best out in their students

• The time paradox and how we live with vastly different time perspectives

• How conflicts derive from people’s differing time perspectives

If you want to hear from a titan of psychology about the inner workings of the human mind - listen to this episode! 

Thank you so much for listening!

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SHOW NOTES, LINKS, & RESEARCH

• [Explanation] Milgram Experiment

• [Explanation] Stanford Prison Experiment

• [Movie Trailer] Stanford Prison Experiment

• [Amazon Movie Stream] Stanford Prison Experiment

• [Book] The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd Ph.D.

• [Website] Time Paradox Site

• [Book] The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo

• [Book] The Time Cure by Philip Zimbardo, Richard Sword, and Rosemary Sword

• [TEDTalk] The Psychology of Evil by Philip Zimbardo

• [TEDTalk] The Psychology of Time by Philip Zimbardo

• [Video] The Heroic Imagination Project

• [Website] The Heroic Imagination Project

• [Email] admin@heroicimagination.com

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT