Guilt is only possible when the nature of the guilt-inducing act can be comprehended. By definition, someone who does not know that she did wrong is quite unlikely to feel guilty about the wrongdoing. That much is common sense.
However, it is also possible for highly guilt-inducing acts to move to a scale that defies comprehension. The result is the same: people who would feel guilty about a lesser act may well feel minimal guilt at the far greater act that is beyond their comprehension.
Take for example the guilt of murder. Most normal people would probably feel quite guilty over murdering someone. When it turns to mass murder, however, it quickly goes beyond human comprehension. It seems quite unlikely that getting say...10 million people killed is going to weigh on the conscience 10 million times stronger than a single murder would. It is simply beyond what can be comprehended. In fact, it may be possible that the number itself becomes so immense that guilt is practically diluted to nothingness. Where massive numbers of people get slaughtered, it becomes ever easier to shirk the responsibility and project it on others.
An intentional killing is a murder. A billion intentional killings is a statistical reduction.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
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