"The Origins of Criminality - The Evil Mind”

CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

Resource Person:
Ms Sabah Carrim

Ms Sabah Carrim recently completed her doctoral thesis at the Department of International and Strategic Studies in University of Malaya. Her research explored the ontological divide made between primary and mid-level perpetrators of violence, with a focus on the rule of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) in Cambodia.

She is currently based in Kuala Lumpur where she lectures law and political science, and has published academic articles and book reviews in the fields of education, law, literature, philosophy and political science.

Moreover, she is also the author of two critically acclaimed novels, Humeirah and Semi-Apes published in 2012 and 2015 respectively and is deputy editor of the journal Review of Human Rights, and copyeditor at Bloomsbury.

Course description: This course will aim to retrace the origins of the concept of evil, particularly in the commission of mass atrocities. It will also identify different players, and their roles and responsibilities in the commission of such actions.

The course will then provide a modern-day take on the notion of Good & Evil, starting with the works of Immanuel Kant, describing how the groundbreaking judgment of Eichmann’s Trial was behind the change in outlook on evil and evildoers. A review of the literature on what causes people to do evil will also be presented.

The course will end with an exposé of how criminal wrongdoing, or matters pertaining to guilt and responsibility, are now being assessed through the lenses of genetic studies and neuroscience by the courts of certain jurisdictions.

Experience Level:

All

Group:

Law Practitioners & Legal Officers