Many have heard of the Stanford Prison Experiment or watched movies inspired by it, but few know the details or the man behind it. Philip Zimbardo is the one who conducted this experiment about 30 years ago. His book The Lucifer Effect is dedicated to several key questions. A large portion of it is a chronological account of the famous experiment and an analysis of its findings. Another significant part is a detailed examination of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, where Zimbardo testified on behalf of one of the accused soldiers. Between these two sections, the author tries to explain the nature of evil. His main point: no one can be sure that, under certain conditions, they wouldn’t turn into a “Lucifer.” At the end of the book, he offers advice on how to prevent oneself from falling into evil.
Since the book is written by the author of the Stanford experiment himself, it’s hard to imagine anyone presenting the subject more thoroughly or thoughtfully. But this is also where the book’s downside lies. There are too many details, and the same ideas are often repeated. At some point, it starts to feel rather tedious.
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