In philosophy, religion, and psychology, ‘good and evil’ is a common dichotomy. Elements that are commonly associated with evil include imbalanced human behaviour, selfishness, greed, ignorance and gross negligence. The principal study of good and evil (human morality) is based on ethics, of which there are three major branches – ‘Normative Ethics’ – concerning how we ought to behave, ‘Applied Ethics’ – concerning moral issues, and ‘Meta-Ethics’ – concerning the nature of morality itself.

An important manifestation of evil which we tend to not take seriously enough, is stupidity. The ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus famously said, “Stupidity is better kept a secret than displayed.” Some belive this quote to be the origin of the expression, ‘It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt’.

Today, we witness stupidity across the world, as also within our tiny little community. Throughout the day, people post all kinds of non-sensical theories across social media, regarding health, medicine, religion and politics. Those with strong religious or political ideologies are not even open to reflection or rational though. Debating with such persons is like trying to play chess with a pigeon – the pigeon simply knocks the pieces all over, messes up the chess board with droppings, and flies back to its flock, claiming victory!

Zoroastrian View Of Good And Evil

In the Gatha, Zarathushtra refers to Spenta Mainyu (creative mentality) and Angra Mainyu (destructive mentality). Mainyu is the Gathic term for mind or mentality. Angra Mainyu is akin to a deficiency or perversity that leads Spenta Mainyu (good mentality), to be deceived.

In Zoroastrian theology, Asha is a concept that denotes, Truth and Divine, Righteous Order and opposed to Asha is Druj which represents the lie or deceit. Druj, in essence, is the misrepresentation of reality that renders one incapable of making good or the right choices. Dregvant is one who adheres to Druj and knowingly chooses evil thoughts, words and actions, perpetuating cruelty, violence, ill treatment, and acts oppression and stupidity.

Natural disasters, wild animals, disease etc., all cause harm. However, what is evil from a human perspective is the deliberate intention to cause harm. Druj or the lie destroys trust and tears apart the fabric of human well-being. Every individual has a free choice between good and evil. Choosing what is good is creative and progressive while choosing what is evil is destructive and regressive.

Stupidity As Threat To Humanity

In 1976, Italian economic historian Prof. Carlo M. Cipolla published a sixty-page essay describing the fundamental laws of a force he perceived as the greatest existential threat to humanity: Stupidity! He wrote, “No matter how many idiots you suspect you are surrounded by, you are invariably underestimating the total. This problem is compounded by the biased assumption that some people are intelligent because of superficial factors such as their job, education, or other characteristics that we believe rules out stupidity.” For example, how often we do not perceive as stupid a person who may be extremely wealthy or holding a high position of power in society.

Cipolla postulates that stupidity is a variable that remains constant in all populations. Every category you can imagine – gender, ethnicity, nationality, education, income – has a fixed percentage of stupid people. University professors can be stupid. Heads of State or multinational corporations could be stupid. Within countries or community, we have men and women holding positions of power and leadership. Some of them are a threat to the future of their country or community. But we should not forget the fact that these individuals hold their positions of power, based on the choices the citizens or the community exercises. Therefore, stupidity begets more stupidity!

Unfortunately, there is no defence against stupidity. The only way for a country or community to avoid being crushed by the burden of its idiots is for the non-stupid to work even harder to compensate for the losses created by the stupid.

Stupid Is Dangerous

According to Cipolla, “Stupid people are dangerous and harmful because reasonable people find it difficult to imagine and understand unreasonable behaviour. An intelligent person can understand the logic of a bandit. The actions of the bandit follow a pattern of rationality: a wicked rationality indeed, but always rational. The bandit wants an advantage for his account. With a stupid person, all this is impossible. The stupid person will harass you without any reason, without any advantage, without any plan, at the most improbable times and places. You have no rational way of telling if, when, where, how and why he or she will attack you. Facing a stupid individual, you are completely at his mercy.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a young German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in the ‘officers’ plot’ to assassinate Adolf Hitler) in his Letters and Papers from Prison wrote: “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenceless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplishes anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”

Bonhoeffer’s theory of stupidity is indeed compelling and reminds us of so many ‘WhatsApp Warriors’ rampant across the internet and social media.

With Great Power Comes Great Stupidity

Stupidity, like evil, is not so much a threat if it has no power. We usually laugh at stupidity when it is harmless. However, the trouble with stupidity is that it often goes hand-in-hand with power. Bonhoeffer writes, “Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity.”

Unfortunately stupidity does not debar one from holding office or authority. History of the world as also the history of our own community abounds with examples of the stupid rising to power and the intelligent being excluded or ousted. But, there are also examples of those endowed with reasonable intelligence turning stupid, once in power. Perhaps it is in the nature of power that makes some people surrender certain faculties necessary for intelligent thought — faculties like independence, critical thinking, and reflection.

Bonhoeffer believed that the more someone becomes part of the establishment, the less an individual they become. A charismatic, exciting outsider, bursting with intelligence and sensible policies, becomes imbecilic the moment he or she or takes office. Power drains the intelligence from such persons making them akin to an animated mannequin.

Coping With Stupidity

To get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its very nature. It is certainly not an intellectual defect or deficit. It is a human defect. There are human beings who are of remarkably nimble intellect, yet stupid and others who are intellectually quite dull, yet anything but stupid. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. Under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances.

On social media we encounter religious or political fanatics who try to thrust the power of their presence in the virtual space and try to influence the minds of unsuspecting public with their stupidity. These persons are relatively harmless. They are often verbose and most people on social media hate reading more than a couple of paragraphs. In any case the only remedy against the onslaught of stupidity is Hanlon’s rule: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

Concluding Advisory

All of us who surf the internet and are active on social media need to apply the ‘Triple Filter Test’, also known as the ‘Triple Filter of Socrates’ – a philosophical technique attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. It is a method of evaluating the truthfulness and importance of information before accepting it and forwarding it. The three filters are:

1. Truth – Is what we have received and read true? Please ‘fact check’;
2. Goodness – Is it good or helpful information? Delete what promotes fear or hatred;
3. Necessity – Is it necessary to share this information? Do not forward messages blindly and mindlessly.