Fall of man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adam, Eve, and a female serpent at the entrance to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The portrayal of the image of the serpent as a mirror of Eve was common in earlier Christian iconography as a result of the identification of women as the ones responsible for the fall of man and source of the original sin.

The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. The doctrine of the Fall comes from a biblical interpretation of Genesis, chapters 1–3. At first, Adam and Eve lived with God in the Garden of Eden, but the serpent tempted them into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and becoming immortal.

In mainstream (Nicene) Christianity, the doctrine of the Fall is closely related to that of original sin or ancestral sin. They believe that the Fall brought sin into the world, corrupting the entire natural world, including human nature, causing all humans to be born into original sin, a state from which they cannot attain eternal life without the grace of God. The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts the concept of the Fall but rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations, based in part on the passage Ezekiel 18:20 that says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father. Calvinist Protestants believe that Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for the elect, so they may be redeemed from their sin. Lapsarianism, understanding the logical order of God's decrees in relation to the Fall, is divided by some Calvinists into supralapsarian (prelapsarian, pre-lapsarian or antelapsarian, before the Fall) and infralapsarian (sublapsarian or postlapsarian, after the Fall).

The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the fall of humankind constitute a mythological tradition shared by all the Abrahamic religions, with a presentation more or less symbolic of Judeo-Christian morals and religious beliefs, which had an overwhelming impact on human sexuality, gender roles, and sex differences both in the Western and Islamic civilizations. Unlike Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam, do not have a concept of "original sin", and instead have developed varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative.

Genesis 3

Main articles: Biblical cosmology and Genesis creation narrative

Further information: Adam and Eve and Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

The doctrine of the fall of man is extrapolated from the traditional Christian exegesis of Genesis 3. According to the biblical narrative, God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman in the chronology of the Bible. God places them in the Garden of Eden and forbids them to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tempts Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree, which she shares with Adam, and they immediately become ashamed of their nakedness. Subsequently, God banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, condemns Adam to work in order to get what he needs to live and condemns Eve to give birth in pain, and places cherubim to guard the entrance, so that Adam and Eve will never eat from the "tree of life".

The Book of Jubilees, an apocryphal Jewish work written during the Second Temple period, gives time frames for the events that led to the fall of man by stating that the serpent convinced Eve to eat the fruit on the 17th day, of the 2nd month, in the 8th year after Adam's creation (3:17). It also states that they were removed from the Garden on the new moon of the 4th month of that year (3:33).

Traditional interpretations

Immortality

Main articles: Original holiness, Christian mythology, and Jewish mythology

Christian exegetes of Genesis 2:17 ("for in the day that you eat of it you shall die") have applied the day-year principle to explain how Adam died within a day. Psalms 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8, and Jubilees 4:29–31 explain that, to God, one day is equivalent to a thousand years and thus Adam died within that same "day". The Greek Septuagint, on the other hand, has "day" translated into the Greek word for a twenty-four-hour period (ἡμέρα, hēméra).

According to the Genesis narrative, during the antediluvian age, human longevity approached a millennium, such as the case of Adam who lived 930 years. Thus, to "die" has been interpreted as to become mortal. However, the grammar does not support this reading, nor does the narrative: Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden lest they eat of the second tree, the tree of life, and gain immortality.

Original sin

Main article: Original sin

Further information: Salvation in Christianity and Theodicy and the Bible § The Fall and freedom of the will

 

The Fall and Expulsion from Paradise, fresco painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City (1510–1564)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms [...] that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents." St Bede and others, especially Thomas Aquinas, said that the fall of Adam and Eve brought "four wounds" to human nature. They are original sin (lack of sanctifying grace and original justice), concupiscence (the soul's passions are no longer ordered perfectly to the soul's intellect), physical frailty and death, and darkened intellect and ignorance. These negated or diminished the gifts of God to Adam and Eve of original justice or sanctifying grace, integrity, immortality and infused knowledge. This first sin was "transmitted" by Adam and Eve to all of their descendants as original sin, causing humans to be "subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin."

In the light of modern scripture scholarship, the future Pope Benedict XVI stated in 1986 that: "In the Genesis story [...] sin is not spoken of in general as an abstract possibility but as a deed, as the sin of a particular person, Adam, who stands at the origin of humankind and with whom the history of sin begins. The account tells us that sin begets sin, and that therefore all the sins of history are interlinked. Theology refers to this state of affairs by the certainly misleading and imprecise term 'original sin.'" Although the state of corruption, inherited by humans after the primaeval event of original sin, is clearly called guilt or sin, it is understood as a sin acquired by the unity of all humans in Adam rather than a personal responsibility of humanity. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, even children partake in the effects of the sin of Adam, but not in the responsibility of original sin, as sin is always a personal act. Baptism is considered to erase original sin, though the effects on human nature remain, and for this reason, the Catholic Church baptizes even infants who have not committed any personal sin.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations. It bases its teaching in part on Ezekiel 18:20 that says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father. The Church teaches that, in addition to their conscience and tendency to do good, men and women are born with a tendency to sin due to the fallen condition of the world. It follows Maximus the Confessor and others in characterising the change in human nature as the introduction of a "deliberative will" (θέλημα γνωμικόν) in opposition to the "natural will" (θέλημα φυσικόν) created by God which tends toward the good. Thus, according to Paul the Apostle in his epistle to the Romans, non-Christians can still act according to their conscience.

Eastern Orthodoxy believes that, while everyone bears the consequences of the first sin (that is, death), only Adam and Eve are guilty of that sin. Adam's sin is not comprehended only as disobedience to God's commandment, but as a change in man's hierarchy of values from theocentricism to anthropocentrism, driven by the object of his lust, outside of God, in this case the tree which was seen to be "good for food", and something "to be desired" (see also theosis, seeking union with God).

Meta-historical fall

Main article: Meta-historical fall

The biblical fall of man is also understood by some Christians (especially those in the Eastern Orthodox tradition) as a reality outside of empirical history that effects the entire history of the universe. This concept of a meta-historical fall (also called metaphysical, supramundane, or atemporal) has been most recently expounded by the Orthodox theologians David Bentley Hart, John Behr, and Sergei Bulgakov, but it has roots in the writings of several early church fathers, especially Origen and Maximus the Confessor. Bulgakov writes in his 1939 book The Bride of the Lamb translated by Boris Jakim (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001):

Empirical history begins precisely with the fall, which is its starting premise. But this beginning of history lies beyond empirical being and cannot be included in its chronology. ...[With the] narrative in Genesis 3, ...an event is described that lies beyond our history, although at its boundary. Being connected with our history, this event inwardly permeates it.

David Bentley Hart has written about this concept of an atemporal fall in his 2005 book The Doors of the Sea as well as in his essay "The Devil’s March: Creatio ex Nihilo, the Problem of Evil, and a Few Dostoyevskian Meditations" (from his 2020 book Theological Territories).

Subordination

Traditionally, women have received the major blame for the Fall of humanity. The subordination exegesis is that the natural consequences of sin entering the human race, was prophesied by God when the phrase was made: the husband "will rule over you". This interpretation is reinforced by comments in the First Epistle to Timothy, where the author gives a rationale for directing that a woman (NIV: possibly "wife"):

...should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man [NIV: possibly "husband"]; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

— 1 Timothy 2:11–14

Therefore, some interpretations of these passages from Genesis 3 and 1 Timothy 2 have developed a view that women are considered as bearers of Eve's guilt and that the woman's conduct in the fall is the primary reason for her universal, timeless, subordinate relationship to the man.

Alternatively, Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger argue that "there is a serious theological contradiction in telling a woman that when she comes to faith in Christ, her personal sins are forgiven but she must continue to be punished for the sin of Eve." They maintain that judgmental comments against women in reference to Eve are a "dangerous interpretation, in terms both of biblical theology and of the call to Christian commitment". They reason that "if the Apostle Paul was forgiven for what he did ignorantly in unbelief", including persecuting and murdering Christians, "and thereafter was given a ministry, why would the same forgiveness and ministry be denied women" (for the sins of their foremother, Eve). Addressing that, the Kroegers conclude that Paul was referring to the promise of Genesis 3:15 that through the defeat of Satan on the cross of Jesus Christ, the woman's child (Jesus) would crush the serpent's head, but the serpent would only bruise the heel of her child. Moreover, many scholars suggest that the concept of inherited guilt in Christianity is a controversial subject at best, and must be treated with care.

Main article: Religion and agriculture

Authors such as Isaac Asimov, Daniel Hillel, and Daniel Quinn suggest that some of the Genesis 3 narrative's symbolism may correlate to the experience of the agricultural revolution. "The expulsion from the Garden of Eden is a folk memory of the beginning of agriculture. With that transition, humans no longer dwelled idyllically in a parkland, feeding on wild fruits or animals, but had begun the toilsome cultivation of cereals." The serpent of the Genesis narrative may represent seasonal changes and renewal, as with the symbolism of Sumerian, Egyptian, and other creation myths. In Mesoamerican creation myths, Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent agricultural deity, is associated with learning as well as renewal. The leading role of Eve in the Genesis narrative may be attributed to the interest of Neolithic women in shifting away from gatherer life in favor of raising crops. Women also may have taken the role of organizers in early farming settlements, thus effectively leading the shift to agrarian society. Though these settlements may have been relatively egalitarian compared to more modern societies, the Genesis narrative may be interpreted as mourning the hunter-gatherer life as a paradise lost.

Other interpretations

Gnosticism

Main article: Gnosticism

Further information: Gnostic texts

 

A lion-faced, serpentine deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of the Demiurge.

Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and early Christian sects. In the formation of Christianity, various sectarian groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (gnosis) of the divine spark within, over faith (pistis) in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians. Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable God, and the Demiurge, "creator" of the material universe. The Gnostics considered the most essential part of the process of salvation to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their worldview along with faith in the ecclesiastical authority.

In Gnosticism, the biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (gnosis) to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the malevolent Demiurge's control. Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a dualistic cosmology that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the liberating savior and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or creator god, identified with the Hebrew God of the Old Testament. Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, false god and creator of the material universe, and the Unknown God of the Gospel, the father of Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God. In the Archontic, Sethian, and Ophite systems, Yaldabaoth (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created.

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent. For instance, Valentinians believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness. All Gnostics were regarded as heretics by the proto-orthodox Early Church Fathers.

Islam

Main article: Adam and Eve in Islam

Further information: Islamic views on sin

 

Persian miniature depicting the expulsion of Adam and Eve, observed by the angel Riḍwan, the Serpent, the Peacock, and Iblīs.

In Islam, it is believed that Adam (Ādam) and Eve (Ḥawwā) were misled by Iblīs (otherwise referred to as al-Shayṭān, lit. 'the Devil'), who tempted them with the promise of immortality and a kingdom that never decays, saying: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live forever". Adam and Eve had been previously warned of Shayṭān's scheming against them, and had been commanded by God to avoid the tree of knowledge that Shayṭān referred to. Although God had reminded them that there was enough provision for them "not to go hungry nor to go naked, nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun's heat", they ultimately gave in to Shayṭān's temptation and partook of the tree anyway. Following this sin, their "nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden", and were subsequently sent down from Paradise (Jannah) onto the Earth with "enmity one to another". However, God also gave them the assurance that "when there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoso followeth My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief."

Muslim scholars can be divided into two groups regarding the reason behind Adam's fall: the first point of view argues that Adam sinned out of his own free will, and only became a prophet later, after he was cast out of paradise and asked for forgiveness. They adhere to the doctrine according to which infallibility (‘iṣmah) only applies to prophets after they were sent to a mission. According to the second point of view, Adam was predestined by God's will to eat from the forbidden tree, because God planned to set Adam and his progeny on Earth from the beginning and thus installed Adam's fall. For this reason, many Muslim exegetes do not regard Adam and Eve's expulsion from paradise as a punishment for disobedience or a result from abused free will on their part, but rather as part of God's wisdom (ḥikmah) and plan for humanity to experience the full range of his attributes, his love, forgiveness, and power to his creation. By their former abode in paradise, they can hope for return during their lifetime. Unlike Iblīs (al-Shayṭān), Adam asked for forgiveness for his transgression, despite God being the ultimate cause of his Fall. For that reason, God bestowed mercy upon Adam and his children. Some Muslim scholars view Adam as an image for his descendants: humans sin, become aware of it, repent for their transgressions (tawba), and return back to God. According to this interpretation, Adam embodies humanity and his Fall shows humans how to act whenever they sin.

Within the Shīʿīte branch of Islam, Muslim followers of the Alawite sect believe that their souls were once luminous stars worshipping ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib in a world of light, but that upon committing sins of pride they were banished from their former state and forced to transmigrate in the world of matter.

Zoroastrianism

In classic Zoroastrianism, humanity is created to withstand the forces of decay and destruction through good thoughts, words and deeds. Failure to do so actively leads to misery for the individual and for his family. This is also the moral of many of the stories of the Shahnameh, the key text of Persian mythology.

Literature and art

William Blake's color printing of God Judging Adam original composed in 1795. This print is currently held by the Tate Collection. In the biblical story, God's judgement results in the fall of man.

In William Shakespeare's Henry V (1599), the King describes the betrayal of Lord Scroop – a friend since childhood – as being "like another fall of man", referring to the loss of his own faith and innocence the treason has caused.

In the novel Perelandra (1943) by C. S. Lewis, the theme of the fall is explored in the context of a new Garden of Eden with a new, green-skinned Adam and Eve on the planet Venus, and with the protagonist – the Cambridge scholar Dr. Ransom – transported there and given the mission of thwarting Satan and preventing a new fall.

In the novel The Fall (1956) by Albert Camus, the theme of the fall is enunciated through the first-person account given in post-war Amsterdam, in a bar called "Mexico City." Confessing to an acquaintance, the protagonist, Jean-Baptiste Clamence, describes the haunting consequence of his refusal to rescue a woman who had jumped from a bridge to her death. The dilemmas of modern Western conscience and the sacramental themes of baptism and grace are explored.

J. R. R. Tolkien included as a note to his comments about the Dialogue of Finrod and Andreth (published posthumously in 1993) the Tale of Adanel that is a reimagining of the fall of man inside his Middle-earth's mythos. The story presented Melkor seducing the first Men by making them worship him instead of Eru Ilúvatar, leading to the loss of the "Edenic" condition of the human race. The story is part of Morgoth's Ring.

In both Daniel Quinn's Ishmael (1992) and The Story of B (1996) novels, it is proposed that the story of the fall of man was first thought up by another culture watching the development of the now-dominant totalitarian agriculturalist culture.

In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series (1995, 1997, 2000), the fall is presented in a positive light, as it is the moment at which human beings achieve self-awareness, knowledge, and freedom. Pullman believes that it is not worth being innocent if the price is ignorance.

The novel Lord of the Flies explores the fall of man. The storyline depicts young, innocent children who turn into savages when they are stranded on a desert island. Lord of the Flies was originally named Strangers from Within, also showing his views of human nature.

The theme is also frequently depicted in historical European art. Lucas van Leyden, a Dutch engraver and painter during the Renaissance period, created several different woodcuts featuring Adam and Eve (two were part of his Power of Women series).

Vice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice

 

Allegorical representation of the Vice of Envy, by Federico Zuccari

A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhealthy habit. Vices are usually associated with a transgression in a person's character or temperament rather than their morality.

Synonyms for vice include fault, sin, depravity, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption. The antonym of vice is virtue.

Etymology

The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice". In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latin word vitium, meaning "failing or defect".

Law enforcement

Depending on the country or jurisdiction, vice crimes may or may not be treated as a separate category in the criminal codes. Even in jurisdictions where vice is not explicitly delineated in the legal code, the term vice is often used in law enforcement and judicial systems as an umbrella for crimes involving activities that are considered inherently immoral, regardless of the legality or objective harm involved.

In the United Kingdom, the term vice is commonly used in law and law enforcement to refer to criminal offences related to prostitution and pornography. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to crimes related to drugs, alcohol, and gambling.

Vice squad

A 1912 portrait of Frankie Fore, sitting in a room during a vice raid in Calumet City (formerly known as West Hammond), Illinois.

 

In Saudi Arabia, the commission for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice is the authority which is the Vice squad.

 

"Vice squad" redirects here. For other uses, see Vice squad (disambiguation).

A vice squad, also called a vice unit or a morality squad, is generally, though not always, a police division, whose focus is to restrain or suppress moral crimes. Though what is considered or accepted as a moral crime by society often varies considerably according to local laws or customs between nations, countries, or states, it often includes activities such as gambling, narcotics, pornography, and illegal sales of alcoholic beverages. Vice squads do not concentrate on more serious crimes like fraud and murder.

Religion

Religious police, for example Islamic religious police units or sharia police in certain parts of the Arab-speaking world, are morality squads that also monitors for example dress codes, observance of store-closures during prayer time, consumption of unlawful beverages or foods, unrelated males and females socializing, and homosexual behavior.

Buddhism

See also: Buddhist views on sin

In the Sarvastivadin tradition of Buddhism, there are 108 defilements, or vices, which are prohibited. These are subdivided into 10 bonds and 98 proclivities. The 10 bonds are the following:

• Absence of shame
• Absence of embarrassment
• Jealousy
• Parsimony (in the sense of stinginess)
• Remorse
• Drowsiness
• Distraction
• Torpor
• Anger
• Concealment of wrongdoing

Judaism

Main article: Jewish ethics

Avoiding vice is an important theme in Jewish ethics, especially within musar literature.

Christianity

Main article: Christian ethics

 

Virtues fighting vices, stained glass window (14th century) in the Niederhaslach Church

Christians believe there are two kinds of vice:

• Vices that come from the physical organism as instincts, which can become perverse (such as lust)
• Vices that come from false idolatry in the spiritual realm

The first kind of vice, though sinful, is believed less serious than the second. Vices recognized as spiritual by Christians include blasphemy (holiness betrayed), apostasy (faith betrayed), despair (hope betrayed), hatred (love betrayed), and indifference (scripturally, a "hardened heart"). Christian theologians have reasoned that the most destructive vice equates to a certain type of pride or the complete idolatry of the self. It is argued that through this vice, which is essentially competitive, all the worst evils come into being. In Christian theology, it originally led to the Fall of Man, and, as a purely diabolical spiritual vice, it outweighs anything else often condemned by the Church.

Roman Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between vice, which is a habit of sin, and the sin itself, which is an individual morally wrong act. In Roman Catholicism, the word "sin" also refers to the state that befalls one upon committing a morally wrong act. In this section, the word always means the sinful act. It is the sin, and not the vice, that deprives one of God's sanctifying grace and renders one deserving of God's punishment. Thomas Aquinas taught that "absolutely speaking, the sin surpasses the vice in wickedness". On the other hand, even after a person's sins have been forgiven, the underlying habit (the vice) may remain. Just as vice was created in the first place by repeatedly yielding to the temptation to sin, so vice may be removed only by repeatedly resisting temptation and performing virtuous acts; the more entrenched the vice, the more time and effort needed to remove it. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that following rehabilitation and the acquisition of virtues, the vice does not persist as a habit, but rather as a mere disposition, and one that is in the process of being eliminated. Medieval illuminated manuscripts circulated with colorful schemas for developing proper attitudes, with scriptural allusions modelled on nature: the tree of virtues as blossoming flowers or vices bearing sterile fruit, The Renaissance writer Pietro Bembo is credited with reaffirming and promoting the Christian perfection of classical humanism. Deriving all from love (or the lack thereof) his schemas were added as supplements in the newly invented technology of printing by Aldus Manutius in his editions of Dante's Divine Comedy dating from early in the 16th century.

Dante's seven deadly vices

The poet Dante Alighieri listed the following seven deadly vices, associating them structurally as flaws in the soul's inherent capacity for goodness as made in the Divine Image yet perverted by the Fall:

1. Pride or vanity: an excessive love of the self (holding the self outside of its proper position regarding God or fellows; Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, pride is referred to as superbia.
2. Envy or jealousy: resentment of others for their possessions (Dante: "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, envy is referred to as invidia.
3. Wrath or anger: feelings of hatred, revenge or denial, as well as punitive desires outside of justice (Dante's description was "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, wrath is referred to as ira, which primitive vices tempt astray by increasingly perverting the proper purpose of charity, directing it inwards, leading to a disordered navel-gazing preoccupation with personal goods in isolation absent proper harmonious relations leading to violent disruption of balance with others.
4. Sloth or laziness: idleness and wastefulness of time or other allotted resources. Laziness is condemned because it results in others having to work harder; also, useful work will not be done. Sloth is referred to in Latin as accidie or acedia, which vice tempts a self-aware soul to be too easily satisfied, thwarting charity's purpose as insufficiently perceptible within the soul itself or abjectly indifferent in relationship with the needs of others and their satisfaction, an escalation in evil, more odious than the passion of hate
5. Avarice (covetousness, greed): a desire to possess more than one has need or use for (or according to Dante, "excessive love of money and power"). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, avarice is referred to as avaritia.
6. Gluttony: overindulgence in food, drink or intoxicants, or misplaced desire of food as a pleasure for its sensuality ("excessive love of pleasure" was Dante's rendering). In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, gluttony is referred to as gula.
7. Lust: excessive sexual desire. Dante's criterion was that "lust detracts from true love". In the Latin lists of the Seven Deadly Sins, lust is referred to as luxuria, which vices tempt cultivated souls in their ability to direct charity's proper purpose to good things or actions, by indulging excess. Thus in Dante's estimation the soul's detachment from sensual appetites become the vices most difficult to tame, urges not as easily curbed by mere good manners since inflamed via appropriate use rather than inappropriate misuse. Hence conventional respect for the ninth and tenth commandments against coveting and social customs that encourage custody of the eyes and ears become prudent adjuncts to training against vice.

The first three terraces of purgatory expiate the sins which can be considered to arise from love perverted, that is, sins which arise from the heart of the sinner being set upon something which is wrong in the eyes of God. Those being purged here must have their love set upon the right path. The fourth terrace of purgatory expiates the sins which can be considered to arise from love defective, that is, love which, although directed towards the correct subjects is too weak to drive the sinner to act as they should. Those being purged here must have their love strengthened so as to drive them correctly. The fifth, sixth, and seventh terraces of purgatory expiate the sins which can be considered to arise from love excessive, that is, love which although directed towards ends which God considers good is directed towards them too much for the sinner to gain bliss from them, and also so that the sinner is distracted from the love of other things of which God approves. Their love must be cooled to a more sensible level.

Islam

See also: Islamic views on sin

The Qur'an and many other Islamic religious writings provide prohibitions against acts that are seen as immoral.

Ibn abi Dunya, a 9th-century scholar and tutor to the caliphs, described seven censures (prohibitions against vices) in his writings:

• Ire
• Envy
• Slander
• Obscenity
• Intoxicants
• Instruments of pleasure

Epicureanism

Although not strictly a religion but a Hellenistic philosophy, Epicurean ethics prescribes a therapeutic approach to the vices with the goal of attaining a life of pleasure with the aid of the virtues. Most of the techniques used in Epicureanism involve challenging false beliefs and attaining beliefs that are aligned with nature. In this, Epicureanism posits an entirely naturalistic, non-religious theory of virtue and vice based on the rational pursuit of pleasure.

Anti-social behaviour

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour

Antisocial behaviors (sometimes called dissocial behaviours) are actions which are considered to violate the rights of others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disruptive to others in society. This can be carried out in various ways, which includes, but is not limited to, intentional aggression, as well as covert and overt hostility. Anti-social behaviour also develops through social interaction within the family and community. It continuously affects a child's temperament, cognitive ability and their involvement with negative peers, dramatically affecting children's cooperative problem-solving skills. Many people also label behaviour which is deemed contrary to prevailing norms for social conduct as anti-social behaviour. However, researchers have stated that it is a difficult term to define, particularly in the United Kingdom where many acts fall into its category. The term is especially used in British English.

Although the term is fairly new to the common lexicon, the word anti-social behaviour has been used for many years in the psychosocial world where it was defined as "unwanted behaviour as the result of personality disorder." For example, David Farrington, a British criminologist and forensic psychologist, stated that teenagers can exhibit anti-social behaviour by engaging in various amounts of wrongdoings such as stealing, vandalism, sexual promiscuity, excessive smoking, heavy drinking, confrontations with parents, and gambling. Anti-social behaviour is typically associated with other behavioural and developmental issues such as hyperactivity, depression, learning disabilities, and impulsivity. Alongside these issues one can be predisposed or more inclined to develop such behaviour due to one's genetics, neurobiological and environmental stressors in the prenatal stage of one's life, through the early childhood years.

The American Psychiatric Association, in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, diagnoses persistent anti-social behaviour as antisocial personality disorder. Genetic factors include abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex of the brain while neurobiological risk include maternal drug use during pregnancy, birth complications, low birth weight, prenatal brain damage, traumatic head injury, and chronic illness. The World Health Organization includes it in the International Classification of Diseases as dissocial personality disorder. A pattern of persistent anti-social behaviours can also be present in children and adolescents diagnosed with conduct problems, including conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder under the DSM-5. It has been suggested that individuals with intellectual disabilities have higher tendencies to display anti-social behaviours, but this may be related to social deprivation and mental health problems. More research is required on this topic. Finley is also very anti-social

Development

Intent and discrimination may determine both pro- and anti-social behaviour. Infants may act in seemingly anti-social ways and yet be generally accepted as too young to know the difference before the age of four or five. Berger states that parents should teach their children that "emotions need to be regulated, not depressed". One problem with the assumption that a behaviour that is "simply ignorant" in infants would have antisocial causes in persons older than 4 or 5 years at the same time as the latter are supposed to have more complex brains (and with it a more advanced consciousness) is that it presumes that what appears to be the same behaviour would have fewer possible causes in a more complex brain than in a less complex brain, which is criticized because a more complex brain increases the number of possible causes of what looks like the same behaviour as opposed to decreasing it.

Studies have shown that in children between ages 13–14 who bully or show aggressive behaviour towards others exhibit anti-social behaviours in their early adulthood. There are strong statistical relationships that show this significant association between childhood aggressiveness and anti-social behaviours. Analyses saw that 20% of these children who exhibit anti-social behaviours at later ages had court appearances and police contact as a result of their behaviour.

Many of the studies regarding the media's influence on anti-social behaviour have been deemed inconclusive. Some reviews have found strong correlations between aggression and the viewing of violent media, while others find little evidence to support their case. The only unanimously accepted truth regarding anti-social behaviour is that parental guidance carries an undoubtedly strong influence; providing children with brief negative evaluations of violent characters helps to reduce violent effects in the individual.

Cause and effects

Families greatly impact the causation of anti-social behaviour. Some other familial causes are parent history of anti-social behaviours, parental alcohol and drug abuse, unstable home life, absence of good parenting, physical abuse, parental instability (mental health issues/PTSD) and economic distress within the family.

Studies have found that there is a link between antisocial behavior and increased amygdala activity specifically centered around facial expressions that are based in anger. This research focuses on the fact that the symptom of over reactivity to perceived threats that comes with antisocial behavior may be from this increase in amygdala activity. This focus on perceived threat does not include emotions centered around distress.

There is a small link between antisocial personality characteristics in adulthood and more TV watching as a child. The risk of early adulthood criminal conviction increased by nearly 30 percent with each hour children spent watching TV on an average weekend. Peers can also impact one's predisposition to anti-social behaviours, in particular, children in peer groups are more likely to associate with anti-social behaviours if present within their peer group. Especially within youth, patterns of lying, cheating and disruptive behaviours found in young children are early signs of anti-social behaviour. Adults must intervene if they notice their children providing these behaviours. Early detection is best in the preschool years and middle school years in best hopes of interrupting the trajectory of these negative patterns. These patterns in children can lead to conduct disorder, a disorder that allows children to rebel against atypical age-appropriate norms. Moreover, these offences can lead to oppositional defiant disorder, which allows children to be defiant against adults and create vindictive behaviours and patterns. Furthermore, children who exhibit anti-social behaviour also are more prone to alcoholism in adulthood.

Genetics

A recent genome-wide analysis of anti-social behaviour in a large combined sample has shown that a large number of genetic variants of low individual effect play a role in anti-social behaviour. Moreover, this study showed that several variants show gender-specific effects on anti-social behaviour in males and females. The study identified a specific gene which is one serotonin transporter gene variant is particularly associated with psychopathic trends in young people.

Intervention and treatment

As a high prevalence mental health problem in children, many interventions and treatments are developed to prevent anti-social behaviours and to help reinforce pro-social behaviours.

Several factors are considered as direct or indirect causes of developing anti-social behaviour in children. Addressing these factors are necessary to develop a reliable and effective intervention or treatment. Children's perinatal risk, temperament, intelligence, nutrition level, and interaction with parents or caregivers can influence their behaviours. As for parents or caregivers, their personality traits, behaviours, socioeconomic status, social network, and living environment can also affect children's development of anti-social behaviour.

An individual's age at intervention is a strong predictor of the effectiveness of a given treatment. The specific kinds of anti-social behaviours exhibited, as well as the magnitude of those behaviours also impact how effective a treatment is for an individual. Behavioural parent training (BPT) is more effective to preschool or elementary school-aged children, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has higher effectiveness for adolescents. Moreover, early intervention of anti-social behaviour is relatively more promising. For preschool children, family is the main consideration for the context of intervention and treatment. The interaction between children and parents or caregivers, parenting skills, social support, and socioeconomic status would be the factors. For school-aged children, the school context also needs to be considered. The collaboration amongst parents, teachers, and school psychologists are usually recommended to help children develop the ability of resolving conflicts, managing their anger, developing positive interactions with other students, and learning pro-social behaviours within both home and school settings.

Moreover, the training for parents or caregivers are also important. Their children would be more likely to learn positive social behaviours and reduce inappropriate behaviours if they become good role models and have effective parenting skills.

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), is a highly effective, evidence-based therapy, in relation to anti-social behaviour. This type of treatment focuses on enabling the patients to create an accurate image of the self, allowing the individuals to find the trigger of their harmful actions and changing how individuals think and act in social situations. Due to their impulsivity, their inability to form trusting relationships and their nature of blaming others when a situation arises, individuals with particularly aggressive anti-social behaviours tend to have maladaptive social cognitions, including hostile attribution bias, which lead to negative behavioural outcomes. CBT has been found to be more effective for older children and less effective for younger children. Problem-solving skills training (PSST) is a type of CBT that aims to recognize and correct how an individual thinks and consequently behaves in social environments. This training provides steps to assist people in obtaining the skill to be able to evaluate potential solutions to problems occurring outside of therapy and learn how to create positive solutions to avoid physical aggression and resolve conflict.

Therapists, when providing CBT intervention to individuals with anti-social behaviour, should first assess the level of the risk of the behaviour in order to establish a plan on the duration and intensity of the intervention. Moreover, therapists should support and motivate individuals to practice the new skills and behaviours in environments and contexts where the conflicts would naturally occur to observe the effects of CBT.

Behavioural parent training

Behavioural parent training (BPT) or parent management training (PMT), focuses on changing how parents interact with their children and equips them with ways to recognize and change their child's maladaptive behaviour in a variety of situations. BPT assumes that individuals are exposed to reinforcements and punishments daily and that anti-social behaviour, which can be learned, is a result of these reinforcements and punishments. Since certain types of interactions between parents and children may reinforce a child's anti-social behaviour, the aim of BPT is to teach the parent effective skills to better manage and communicate with their child. This could be done by reinforcing pro-social behaviours while punishing or ignoring anti-social behaviours. It is important to note that the effects of this therapy can be seen only if the newly acquired communication methods are maintained. BPT has been found to be most effective for younger children under the age of 12. Researchers credit the effectiveness of this treatment at younger ages due to the fact that younger children are more reliant on their parents. BPT is used to treat children with conduct problems, but also for children with ADHD.

According to a meta-analysis, the effectiveness of BPT is supported by short-term changes on the children's anti-social behaviour. However, whether these changes are maintained over a longer period of time is still unclear.

School-based Intervention

First Step to Success  is an early intervention for Kindergarten to 3rd grade children who are demonstrating antisocial behaviors. First Step is a collaborative intervention between home and school. There are three important components: (1) Screening; (2) School intervention (CLASS): teaches the child appropriate behavior through positive reinforcement; (3) Home intervention (HomeBase): teaches the parent key skills for supporting their child and the use of positive reinforcement. The classroom intervention phase (CLASS) takes about 30 days to complete and has 3 phases: (1) Coach-led; (2) Teacher-led; (3) Maintaining. The Red Card/Green Card game (red = inappropriate behavior; green = appropriate behavior) is played at school each day. The coach/teacher shows a red/green card as a visual cue to the target student based on their current behavior. Points are earned if the card is on green at the end of a timed interval. If enough points are earned at the end of the game, the target child gets to choose a reward that the entire class can enjoy together (i.e., extra time at recess, playing a special game, etc.). Coaches/teachers communicate daily with parent(s) throughout the intervention. The home intervention (HomeBase) begins a few days after the classroom intervention. HomeBase builds parent's confidence in 6 specific skill areas and in parent-child activities. Coaches meet with parent(s) once weekly for 6 weeks. Parent(s) engage with the target child for 10–15 minutes daily in one-on-one time during the intervention. Overall, First Steps takes about 3 months to implement, requires minimal time from parent(s) and teachers and has shown empirically positive results in increasing prosocial behavior in at-risk children.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy or talk therapy, although not always effective, can also be used to treat individuals with anti-social behaviour. Individuals can learn skills such as anger and violence management. This type of therapy can help individuals with anti-social behaviour bridge the gap between their feelings and behaviours, which they lack the connection previously. It is most effective when specific issues are being discussed with individuals with anti-social behaviours, rather than a broad general concept. This type of therapy works well with individuals who are at a mild to moderate stage of anti-social behaviour since they still have some sense of responsibility regarding their own problems. Mentalization-based treatment is another form of group psychotherapy shifting its focus on the relational and mental factors related to anti-social personality disorder rather than anger management and violent acts. This particular group therapy targets the mentalizing vulnerabilities and attachment patterns of patients by using a semi-structured group process focused on personal formulation and by establishing group values to promote learning from other members and generating "we-ness."

When working with individuals with anti-social behaviour, therapist must be mindful of building a trusting therapeutic relationship since these individuals might have never experienced rewarding relationships. Therapists also need to be reminded that changes might take place slowly, thus an ability for noticing small changes and constant encouragement for individuals with anti-social behaviour to continue the intervention are required.

Family therapy

Family therapy, which is a type of psychotherapy, helps promote communication between family members, thus resolving conflicts related to anti-social behaviour. Since family exerts enormous influence over children's development, it is important to identify the behaviours that could potentially lead to anti-social behaviours in children. It is a relatively short-term therapy which involves the family members who are willing to participate. Family therapy can be used to address specific topics such as aggression. The therapy may end when the family can resolve conflicts without needing the therapists to intervene.

Diagnosis

There is no official diagnosis for anti-social behaviour. However, we can have a look at the official diagnosis for Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and use it as guideline while keeping in mind that anti-social behaviour and ASPD are not to be confused.

Distinguishing from antisocial personality disorder

When looking at non-ASPD patients (who show anti-social behaviour) and ASPD patients, it all comes down to the same types of behaviours. However, ASPD is a Personality Disorder which is defined by the consistency and stability of the observed behaviour, in this case, anti-social behaviour. Antisocial Personality Disorder can only be diagnosed when a pattern of anti-social behaviour began being noticeable during childhood and/or early teens and remained stable and consistent across time and context. In the official DSM IV-TR for ASPD, it is specified that the anti-social behaviour has to occur outside of time frames surrounding traumatic life events or manic episodes (if the individual is diagnosed with another mental disorder). The diagnosis for ASPD cannot be done before the age of 18. For example, someone who exhibits anti-social behaviour with their family but pro-social behaviour with friends and coworkers would not qualify for ASPD because the behaviour is not consistent across context. Someone who was consistently behaving in a pro-social way and then begins exhibiting anti-social behaviour in response to a specific life event would not qualify for ASPD either because the behaviour is not stable across time.

Law breaking behaviour in which the individuals are putting themselves or others at risk is considered anti-social even if it is not consistent or stable (Examples : speeding, use of drugs, getting in physical conflict). In relation to the previous statement, juvenile delinquency is a core element to the diagnosis of ASPD. Individuals who begin getting in trouble with the law (in more than one area) at an abnormally early age (around 15) and keep recurrently doing so in adulthood may be suspected of having ASPD.

Evidence: frustration and aggression

With some limitations, research has established a correlation between frustration and aggression when it comes to anti-social behaviour. The presence of anti-social behaviour may be detected when an individual is experiencing an abnormally high amount of frustrations in their daily life routine and when those frustrations always result into aggression. The term impulsivity is commonly used to describe this behavioural pattern. Anti-social behaviour can also be detected if the aggressiveness and impulsiveness of the individual's behaviour in response to frustrations is so that it causes obstruction to social interactions and achievement of personal goals. In both of these cases, we can consider the different types of treatment and therapy previously mentioned in this article.

• Examples in childhood: unable to make friends, unable to follow rules, getting kicked out of school, unable to fulfill minimal levels of education (elementary school, middle school).
• Examples in early adulthood: unable to keep a job or an apartment, difficulty with maintaining relationships.

Prognosis

The prognosis of having anti-social behaviour is not very favourable due to its high stability throughout children development. Studies have shown that children who are aggressive and have conduct problems are more likely to have anti-social behaviour in adolescence. Early intervention of anti-social behaviour is relatively more effective since the anti-social pattern lasts for a shorter period of time. Moreover, since younger children would have smaller social networks and less social activities, fewer contexts need to be considered for the intervention and treatment. For adolescents, studies have shown that the influence of treatments becomes less effective.

The prognosis seems to not be influenced by the duration of intervention, however; a long-term follow-up is necessary to confirm that the intervention or treatment is effective.

Individuals who exhibit anti-social behaviour are more likely to use drugs and abuse alcohol. This could make the prognosis worse since he or she would less likely be involved in social activities and would become more isolated.

By location

United Kingdom

Main article: Anti-social behaviour order

 

ASBO warning in London

 

A car that has taken up two spaces in a car park

An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders, introduced in the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, were designed to criminalize minor incidents that would not have warranted prosecution before.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defines anti-social behaviour as acting in a manner that has "caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household" as the perpetrator. There has been debate concerning the vagueness of this definition.

However, among legal professionals in the UK there are behaviours commonly considered to fall under the definitions of anti-social behaviour. These include, but are not limited to, threatening or intimidating actions, racial or religious harassment, verbal abuse, and physical abuse.

In a survey conducted by University College London during May 2006, the UK was thought by respondents to be Europe's worst country for anti-social behaviour, with 76% believing Britain had a "big or moderate problem".

Current legislation governing anti-social behaviour in the UK is the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 which received Royal Assent in March 2014 and came into enforcement in October 2014. This replaces tools such as the ASBO with 6 streamlined tools designed to make it easier to act on anti-social behaviour.

Australia

Anti-social behaviour can have a negative effect and impact on Australian communities and their perception of safety. The Western Australia Police force define anti-social behaviour as any behaviour that annoys, irritates, disturbs or interferes with a person's ability to go about their lawful business. In Australia, many different acts are classed as anti-social behaviour, such as: misuse of public space' disregard for community safety; disregard for personal well-being; acts directed at people; graffiti; protests; liquor offences; and drunk driving. It has been found that it is very common for Australian adolescents to engage in different levels of anti-social behaviour. A survey was conducted in 1996 in New South Wales, Australia, of 441, 234 secondary school students in years 7 to 12 about their involvement in anti-social activities. 38.6% reported intentionally damaging or destroying someone else's property, 22.8% admitted to having received or selling stolen goods and close to 40% confessed to attacking someone with the idea of hurting them. The Australian community are encouraged to report any behaviour of concern and play a vital role assisting police in reducing anti-social behaviour. One study conducted in 2016 established how perpetrators of anti-social behaviour may not actually intend to cause offense. The study examined anti-social behaviours (or microaggressions) within the LGBTIQ community on a university campus. The study established how many members felt that other people would often commit anti-social behaviours, however there was no explicit suggestion of any maliciousness behind these acts. Rather, it was just that the offenders were naive to the impact of their behaviour.

The Western Australia Police force uses a three-step strategy to deal with anti-social behaviour.

1. Prevention – This action uses community engagement, intelligence, training and development and the targeting of hotspots, attempting to prevent unacceptable behaviour from occurring.
2. Response – A timely and effective response to anti-social behaviour is vital. Police provide ownership, leadership and coordination to apprehend offenders.
3. Resolution – Identifying the underlying issues that cause anti-social behaviour and resolve these issues with the help of the community. Offenders are successfully prosecuted.

Online shaming

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shaming

Online shaming is a form of public shaming in which targets are publicly humiliated on the internet, via social media platforms (e.g. Twitter or Facebook), or more localized media (e.g. email groups). As online shaming frequently involves exposing private information on the Internet, the ethics of public humiliation has been a source of debate over internet privacy and media ethics. Online shaming takes many forms, including call-outs, cancellation (cancel culture), doxing, negative reviews, and revenge porn.

Description

Online shaming is a form of public shaming in which internet users are harassed, mocked, or bullied by other internet users online. This shaming may involve commenting directly to or about the shamed; the sharing of private messages; or the posting of private photos. Those being shamed are perceived to have committed a social transgression, and other internet users then use public exposure to shame the offender.

People have been shamed online for a variety of reasons, usually consisting of some form of social transgression such as posting offensive comments, posting offensive images or memes, online gossip, or lying. Those who are shamed online have not necessarily committed any social transgression, however. Online shaming may be used to get revenge (for example, in the form of revenge pornography), stalk, blackmail, or to threaten other internet users.

Privacy violation is a major issue in online shaming. Those being shamed may be denied the right to privacy and be subject to defamation. David Furlow, chairman of the Media, Privacy and Defamation Committee of the American Bar Association, has identified the potential privacy concerns raised by websites facilitating the distribution of information that is not part of the public record (documents filed with a government agency) and has said that such websites "just [give] a forum to people whose statements may not reflect truth."

Types

Call-outs and cancellation

Main article: Cancel culture

Cancel culture or call-out culture describes a form of ostracism in which someone or something is thrust out of social or professional circles, either online on social media, in the real world, or both. They are said to be "canceled". Merriam-Webster defines cancel as "to stop giving support to that person", and dictionary.com defines it as "calling out the bad behavior, boycotting their work (such as by not watching their movies or listening to their music), and trying to take away their public platform and power". Lisa Nakamura, professor of media studies at the University of Michigan, defines cancelling as simply a "cultural boycott" in which the act of depriving someone of attention deprives them of their livelihood.

The notion of cancel culture is a variant on the term "call-out culture", and constitutes a form of boycott involving an individual (usually a celebrity) who is deemed to have acted or spoken in a questionable or controversial manner.

Over the past few years, cancel culture has become a pervasive presence in American society. Most Americans find the term more associated with social media and entertainment instead of politics. Business Insider conducted a poll in conjunction with SurveyMonkey that asked 1,129 respondents "When you hear the term 'cancel culture,' which of the following do you most associate it with? Please select all that apply." 48% of respondents identified cancel culture with social media, 34% identified cancel culture with the entertainment industry, 31% associated it with the news media, 20% listed colleges, and 16% did not know what cancel culture was. Regarding politics, partisan splits on this issue were widespread; for instance, almost half of Republicans associated cancel culture with Democrats.

Doxing

Main article: Doxing

Doxing involves researching and broadcasting personally identifiable information about an individual, often with the intention of harming that person. This information may include the person's home address, workplace or school, full name, spouses, credit card information, and phone number.

Bruce Schneier, a lecturer and fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, has elaborated that doxing does not just happen to individuals. Companies such as Sony and Ashley Madison have been involved previously in doxing schemes.

Negative reviews

User generated review sites such as Yelp, Google Maps and Trip Advisor have been used to publicly shame or punish businesses.

Revenge porn

Main article: Revenge porn

Non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit material in order to humiliate a person, frequently distributed by computer hackers or ex-partners. Images and video of sexual acts are often combined with doxing of a person's private details, such as their home addresses and workplaces. In some jurisdictions, revenge porn is a criminal offense.

Social status shaming

Social status shaming is a form of online shaming that involves bullying others online due to their socioeconomic status. This phenomenon is centered around using someone's income, social status, health, and influence to subject them certain types of bullying and online criticism. It is often utilized as a vessel for social control among classes, and has been regarded as one of the most effective models in which to examine social status and its influence on controlling those below oneself. In the digital world we live in, there is a social standard that people fall into and try to mimic. Thus, social status shaming is a form of social exclusion, where if someone isn't as rich as another, then that person will be subjected to some form of bullying and criticism in order for them to retain social control over the poorer person.

Notable examples

Ashley Madison data breach

Main article: Ashley Madison data breach

 

Public humiliation of Ashley Madison users has been argued to be a form of "flogging in the virtual town square".

In July 2015, a group hacked the user data of Ashley Madison, a commercial dating website marketed as helping people have extramarital affairs. In August 2015, over 30 million user account details; including names and email addresses were released publicly.

A variety of security researchers and Internet privacy activists debated the ethics of the release.

Clinical psychologists argued that dealing with an affair in a particularly public way increases the hurt for spouses and children. Carolyn Gregoire argued "[s]ocial media has created an aggressive culture of public shaming in which individuals take it upon themselves to inflict psychological damage" and more often than not, "the punishment goes beyond the scope of the crime." Charles J. Orlando, who had joined the site to conduct research concerning women who cheat, said he felt users of the site were anxious the release of sexually explicit messages would humiliate their spouses and children. He wrote it is alarming "the mob that is the Internet is more than willing to serve as judge, jury, and executioner" and members of the site "don't deserve a flogging in the virtual town square with millions of onlookers."

Tim Hunt controversy

In 2015, the Nobel laureate Sir Tim Hunt was involved in a highly publicized controversy at the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) in Seoul. At a lunch for female journalists and scientists, Hunt gave a speech at short notice which was later recounted by an unnamed EU official:

It's strange that such a chauvinist monster like me has been asked to speak to women scientists. Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry. Perhaps we should make separate labs for boys and girls? Now, seriously, I'm impressed by the economic development of Korea. And women scientists played, without a doubt, an important role in it. Science needs women, and you should do science, despite all the obstacles, and despite monsters like me.

In the audience were science journalists Connie St Louis, Deborah Blum and Ivan Oransky, who found Hunt's remarks highly inappropriate. They decided to publicize his remarks on Twitter, giving St Louis the task of writing a short text to be tweeted and corroborated by the other two. The tweet cast the remarks in starkly sexist terms, declared that Hunt had "utterly ruined" the luncheon, and gave no indication that he had been joking.

St Louis's tweet went viral, setting off what The Observer described as a "particularly vicious social media campaign." The Royal Society quickly distanced itself from Hunt's comments as reported and emphasized its commitment to equality in the sciences. To ridicule the "sexist scientist", the online feminist magazine Vagenda urged female scientists to post mundane pictures of themselves at work under the hashtag "#distractinglysexy".

Two days after the speech, Hunt gave a BBC radio interview saying "I did mean the part about having trouble with girls. It is true that I have fallen in love with people in the lab, and that people in the lab have fallen in love with me, and it's very disruptive to the science. It's terribly important that, in the lab, people are on a level playing field. And I found these emotional entanglements made life very difficult. I mean, I'm really, really sorry that I caused any offence – that's awful. I certainly didn't mean – I just meant to be honest, actually." Hunt went on to say "I'm very sorry if people took offense. I certainly did not mean to demean women, but rather be honest about my own shortcomings."

Numerous media outlets reported on the incident and the interview, citing portions of Hunt's original remarks and criticizing them as sexist. The editors of Nature called on "all involved in science [to] condemn the comments", which they took as a seriously intended suggestion "that single-sex labs might be preferable". Hunt felt he had made it clear he was joking because he had included the phrase "now seriously" in his statement. The reconstruction of his words by an unnamed EU official corroborated the inclusion of these words.

Resignations

On June 10 Hunt resigned from his position as an honorary professor with the University College London's Faculty of Life Sciences and from the Royal Society's Biological Sciences Awards Committee. Hunt's wife, immunologist Mary Collins, had been told by a senior [at UCL] that Hunt "had to resign immediately or be sacked". He was consequently required to step down from the science committee of the European Research Council.

Jonathan Dimbleby resigned from an honorary fellowship at UCL in protest at its treatment of Hunt. Also, author and journalist Jeremy Hornsby wrote University College London out of his will in protest, leaving it "about £100,000 worse off".

Wider reaction

At least 8 Nobel prizewinning scientists and 21 honorary fellows had criticized the treatment of Hunt following his resignation. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, and Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist expressed similar indignation. A few scientists, such as Hunt's co-Nobelist, Paul Nurse, were critical of Hunt's conduct and said that his resignation was warranted.

Imran Khan, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, speaking to the BBC, described Hunt's comments as "careless", adding that it is "hard to find Sir Tim's comments funny if you've been held back by systemic bias for years – whether those remarks were intended as a joke or not".

In a letter to The Times a group of 29 staff scientists, students and postdoctoral fellows, both male and female, who had worked with Hunt, wrote in support of his character. They described how his help had been "instrumental in the advancement of many other women and men in science beyond those in his own lab" and how he had "actively encouraged an interest in science in schoolchildren and young scientists, arranging for work experience and summer students of both genders to get their first taste of research in his lab". They urged the ERC and UCL to "reconsider their rush to judgment".

Hunt had been scheduled to appear later in June at the 2015 Lindau Meeting but it was decided that his presence would be a distraction for the rest of the panel. His case was discussed, however, at a panel on science communication as a possible example of "communications overkill".

Paul Nurse, head of the Royal Society, who shared the 2001 Nobel prize in medicine with Hunt, while stressing his esteem for Hunt as a person, originally stated that Hunt had said "some stupid things which cannot be supported and they had to be condemned" and that the affair had been bad for science and for the Royal Society in particular, adding that the discussion had "become totally polarized with extreme views on both sides". In a later statement, Nurse described the response to Hunt's comments as "a twitter and media storm, completely out of proportion", adding that "he should never have been sacked by University College London".

For his part, Hunt has distanced himself from the controversy, commenting that he had been "turned into a straw man that one lot loves to love and the other lot loves to hate and then they just take up sides and hurled utterly vile abuse at everyone".

"Shirtstorm" controversy

In November 2014, while giving a televised status update on the Rosetta space craft, Matt Taylor wore a shirt depicting scantily-clad cartoon women with firearms made by his friend, a female artist. Taylor's decision to wear the shirt to a press conference drew criticism from a number of commentators, who saw a reflection of a culture where women are unwelcome in scientific fields (see gender inequality). Others, including Boris Johnson, Julie Bindel and Tim Stanley, made arguments against this criticism. The woman who made the shirt for Taylor as a birthday present stated that she "did not expect" the shirt to attract the level of attention that it did. Taylor later made a public apology, saying: "The shirt I wore this week – I made a big mistake, and I offended many people. And I'm very sorry about this". Some writers expressed appreciation for Taylor's apology. A campaign was set up on the crowdfund website Indiegogo, with the objective of raising $3,000 to buy Taylor a gift, as a token of the public's appreciation for the work that he and the team had done. The campaign raised a total of $24,003, of which $23,000 was donated to UNAWE at Taylor's request, the remainder going towards a plaque commemorating the mission.

Hypatia transracialism controversy

Main article: Hypatia transracialism controversy

The feminist philosophy journal Hypatia became involved in a dispute in April 2017 that led to the online shaming of one of its authors. The journal published an article about transracialism by Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy, comparing the situation of Caitlyn Jenner, a trans woman, to that of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who identifies as black. The article was criticized on Facebook and Twitter as a source of "epistemic violence", and the author became the subject of personal attacks. Academics associated with Hypatia joined in the criticism. A member of the journal's editorial board became the point of contact for an open letter demanding that the article be retracted, and the journal's board of associate editors issued an unauthorized apology, saying the article should never have been published. Rogers Brubaker described the episode in the New York Times as an example of "internet shaming".

Goblin Valley rock-toppling incident

Main article: Goblin Valley State Park § 2013 vandalism

In October 2013, a delicately balanced hoodoo in Goblin Valley State Park was intentionally knocked over by Boy Scout leaders who had been camping in the area. David Benjamin Hall captured video and shouted encouragement while Glenn Tuck Taylor toppled the formation. They posted the video to Facebook, whereupon it was viewed by thousands and the two men began receiving death threats. Their claim that the hoodoo appeared unstable, and that they vandalized it out of concern for passersby, was rejected by Fred Hayes, director of the Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation. Hall and Taylor were expelled from Boy Scouts and charged with third-degree felonies, ultimately pleading guilty to lesser charges of misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Dog Poop Girl

Main article: Dog poop girl

In 2005 in South Korea, bloggers targeted a woman who refused to clean up when her dog defecated on the floor of a Seoul subway car, labeling her "Dog Poop Girl" (rough translation of Korean: "개똥녀" into English). Another commuter had taken a photograph of the woman and her dog, and posted it on a popular South Korean website. Within days, she had been identified by Internet vigilantes, and much of her personal information was leaked onto the Internet in an attempt to punish her for the offense. The story received mainstream attention when it was widely reported in South Korean media. The public humiliation led the woman to drop out of her university, according to reports.

The reaction by the South Korean public to the incident prompted several newspapers in South Korea to run editorials voicing concern over Internet vigilantism. One paper quoted Daniel Solove as saying that the woman was the victim of a "cyber-posse, tracking down norm violators and branding them with digital Scarlet Letters." Another called it an "Internet witch-hunt," and went on to say that "the Internet is turning the whole society into a kangaroo court."

Cooks Source incident

Main article: Cooks Source infringement controversy

The food magazine Cooks Source printed an article by Monica Gaudio without her permission in their October 2010 issue. Learning of the copyright violation, Gaudio emailed Judith Griggs, managing editor of Cooks Source Magazine, requesting that the magazine both apologize and also donate $130 to the Columbia School of Journalism as payment for using her work. Instead she received a very unapologetic letter stating that she (Griggs) herself should be thanked for making the piece better and that Gaudio should be glad that she didn't give someone else credit for writing the article. During the ensuing public outcry, online vigilantes took it upon themselves to avenge Gaudio. The Cooks Source Facebook page was flooded with thousands of contemptuous comments, forcing the magazine's staff to create new pages in an attempt to escape the protest and accuse 'hackers' of taking control of the original page. The magazine's website was stripped of all content by the staff and shut down a week later.

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