Nobody Does Evil on Purpose. Really?

Stoicism says nobody does wrong on purpose: every bad act begins in a mistaken judgement about what is good. But does that survive contact with clear-eyed cruelty, compulsive habit and modern moral psychology?

I test the claim against Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Medea, research on psychopathy and the Stoics' own internal disagreement. Then I keep the practical part that still works: catching one assent before it hardens into action.

Sources and further reading:

- Epictetus, Discourses 1.28 and 2.17
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1, 7.26 and 11.18
- Cicero, On Fate 42-43
- Aharoni, Sinnott-Armstrong and Kiehl, “Can Psychopathic Offenders Discern Moral Wrongs?” (2012)
- Aharoni, Sinnott-Armstrong and Kiehl, “What's Wrong? Moral Understanding in Psychopathic Offenders” (2014)
- Kühn and Gallinat, “Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption” (2014)
- Grubbs et al., “Pornography Problems Due to Moral Incongruence” (2019)