What makes good people do evil?

Bauman, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds, is a giant of sociology and best-known for his works on globalisation, modernity, post modernity and consumerism. A lecture he gave at the University in April entitled 'What Makes Good People do Evil' was filmed, and on Wednesday 6 October, Professor Bauman will attend the screening of this lecture before fielding questions from the audience on the topic. The screening and Q&A session will take place on Wednesday 6 October in Chemistry Lecture Theatre A (2.15) from 4pm until 6pm. Professor Bauman has written about the concept of 'liquid modernity' - where contemporary life has moved from a state where it is relatively 'solid'- with change occurring, but from one stable condition to another - to one where change is constant and unpredictable. This causes rapid, widespread displacement and uncertainty in society. In his lecture, 'What Makes Good People do Evil', Bauman discussed acts of evil, ethical values and human solidarity in this age. He looked at how state sanctioned atrocities such as the Holocaust cannot be seen as a single event, but rather as beginning a process which results in these acts becoming easier to commit each time.