Eichmann's Mind: Psychological, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
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José Brunner
This essay discusses various representations of Eichmann's mind that were fashioned on the occasion of his trial in Jerusalem in 1961. Gideon Hausner the prosecutor presented the defendant as demonic. Hannah Arendt, the German-born American Jewish philosopher portrayed him as banal or thoughtless. Limiting themselves to the issue of mens rea in their judgment, the Israeli Supreme Court justices described Eichmann's mind as controlled by criminal intent.
While these views have been widely discussed in the literature, much of this essay focuses on a hitherto little noted perspective on Eichmann's mind that was formulated by the mental health experts who examined Eichmann for the prosecution. As compared to the inclusionist, confictual, and complex picture these experts presented of Eichmann's mind, Arendt's and Huusner's views appear similar in their reductionism, rather than diametrically opposed, while the approach of the Supreme Court justices to Eichmann's mind can be regarded as restrictive.
Methodological problems involved in all these different perspectives are discussed, and it is argued that even though the psychological outlook declares itself to be non-judgmental, it does, in fact, entail a dimension of moral judgment. Finally, Eichmann 's recently declassified memoirs are adduced and interpreted as lending some support to the psychological, inclusionist perspective on Eichmann's mind.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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- The Force, Frailty, and Future of Human Rights under Globalization
- Rethinking the Concept of Harm and Legal Categorizations of Sexual Violence During War
- One Life for Another in the Holocaust: A Singularity for Jewish Law?
- Preparing the Eichmann Trial: Who Really Did the Job?
- The Eichmann Trial and Its Influence on Psychiatry and Psychology
- Eichmann's Mind: Psychological, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
- Theaters of Justice: Arendt in Jerusalem, the Eichmann Trial, and the Redefinition of Legal Meaning in the Wake of the Holocaust
- In a Different Voice: Nathan Alterman and Hannah Arendt on the Kastner and Eichmann Trials
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- Communities of Judgment and Human Rights
- The Force, Frailty, and Future of Human Rights under Globalization
- Rethinking the Concept of Harm and Legal Categorizations of Sexual Violence During War
- One Life for Another in the Holocaust: A Singularity for Jewish Law?
- Preparing the Eichmann Trial: Who Really Did the Job?
- The Eichmann Trial and Its Influence on Psychiatry and Psychology
- Eichmann's Mind: Psychological, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
- Theaters of Justice: Arendt in Jerusalem, the Eichmann Trial, and the Redefinition of Legal Meaning in the Wake of the Holocaust
- In a Different Voice: Nathan Alterman and Hannah Arendt on the Kastner and Eichmann Trials
