Zimbardo speaks on Pearl’s legacy of heroism

Psychology prof. takes part part in memorial lecture

Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology, spoke at Kresge Auditorium yesterday night. His lecture, entitled “The Journey from Evil to Heroism: In Honor of Daniel Pearl,” drew a sizable crowd at the third annual talk paying tribute to the slain Stanford alum.

Pearl ‘85, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, was abducted and killed in Pakistan in 2002. In his memory, the annual Daniel Pearl Lecture Series was created in 2006 through a partnership between the Office for Religious Life, the Office of the President, the Daniel Pearl Foundation and Hillel at Stanford.

According to Debbie McDevitt, information editor for the Office for Religious Life, the lecture series was a logical development.

“Daniel Pearl was a writer himself and a great communicator, and it seemed like a natural thing to have a lecture series,” McDevitt said.

In an email to The Daily, Hillel’s Executive Director Adina Danzig Epelman stressed how the lecture series connects Pearl’s legacy to current affairs.

“The event aims to form a bridge between the past and present by combining a personal tribute to Danny with a current speaker of national or international prominence,” said Danzig Epelman.

This year, the ASSU Speakers Bureau and the Department of Psychology cosponsored Zimbardo’s lecture.

Zimbardo began his talk with video clips and an anecdotal narrative in remembrance of Pearl — a move made all the more poignant by the presence of the deceased alum’s parents, Judea and Ruth Pearl.

But an equally important part of Zimbardo’s speech focused on the Lucifer Effect. This concept derives from Zimbardo’s prominent research on the process by which good people turn evil. In particular, Zimbardo highlighted the human mind’s capacity to make people behave kindly or cruelly. He stated that psychology aims to understand this transformation of the human mind through three lenses — dispositional, situational and systemic. Zimbardo used the Abu Ghraib abuses, Pearl’s murder and his own Stanford Prison Experiment as examples of how ordinary people can commit extraordinarily cruel acts.

In concluding his lecture, Zimbardo questioned whether or not ordinary people have the power to overcome the Lucifer Effect. For him, the answer seems to depend on demystifying and democratizing heroism. Zimbardo particularly emphasized the need for a socio-centric approach to heroism, as demonstrated by Pearl.

“Heroism is the basic antidote to evil,” Zimbardo said.

Zimbardo stated that Pearl’s courage was shown by his risky and determined efforts to uncover the truth about terrorist financing — an endeavor that ultimately took his life.

“You’re a hero because of what you do before you die,” Zimbardo said, adding that what Pearl did in the days preceding his death demonstrated his heroism.

Zimbardo’s emphasis on the Lucifer Effect surprised some students.

“It was great to hear that he had a new project . . . having connection with Daniel Pearl,” said Michael Brandt ‘11. “I was expecting Zimbardo to just talk about his big, famous Prison Experiment and all the research he’s done in that same regard. I was really surprised. He set a [much] graver tone.”

Zimbardo’s insight into the matter resounded similarly with Vivian Ngo ‘12.

“I thought it was interesting because the story of Daniel Pearl was shocking to Americans,” Ngo said. “Relating this one story to heroism makes us more willing to act instead of just passively watching all this evil.”

Danzig Epelman could not agree more.

“Zimbardo is a wonderful person to speak about this because he can inspire people to find moments of heroism — he can inspire young people, students,” Epelman said. “And what’s so magnificent about what the Pearls have done in creating this foundation is taking an unbearable tragedy and finding ways to promote goodness in the world.”