Panel Presentation:
• The Challenge of Studying Heinous Evildoers: Psychobiography, Empathy, and Moral Witnessing
Panelists: Jim Anderson and Jeffrey Rubin
(60 min)

Panel Presentation 1:

The Notorious but Necessary Task of Studying the Greatest Evildoers Such as Hitler and Stalin

By James William Anderson

Abstract:

“The Notorious but Necessary Task of Studying the Greatest Evildoers Such as Hitler and Stalin”: It is at least challenging, and maybe impossible, to write high-quality psychobiography about truly despicable evildoers such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. The problem is that a psychobiographer has to be able to establish an empathic connection with the subject, but how to do that with a monster who caused rampant harm and destruction? Yet it is just these people whom we most need to understand. Such understanding can help us cope with leaders who threaten to develop into being dangerous villains. Approaches used in studying Hitler and Stalin are considered. Also, exploration is made of the parallel between a psychobiographer studying an evil person and an actor portraying an evil character.

Keywords: Adolf Hitler, destructive leadership, empathy, evil, Joseph Stalin, perpetrator studies, psychobiography, psychohistory

Panel Presentation 2:

Empathy, Countertransference, and Moral Witnessing

By Jeffrey B. Rubin

Abstract:

This paper examines the psychological and ethical demands of understanding destructive human behavior without collapsing into either condemnation or identification. It begins with James Baldwin as a model of moral witnessing: a capacity to confront cruelty without hatred and to sustain both moral clarity and empathic understanding under pressure. The paper then turns to Robert Jay Lifton’s work with Nazi doctors to illustrate the difficulty of such engagement, including his acknowledgment of a “fear of contagion” when approaching perpetrators.

Drawing on a contemporary clinical vignette and a psychohistorical reading of David Lane, the paper explores the resistance to empathic inquiry—not only as moral revulsion, but as a countertransference response to the perceived danger of entering disturbing psychological worlds. The concern that understanding may soften judgment is examined as a central obstacle to sustained inquiry.

The paper argues that empathy, in this context, is not a sentiment but a disciplined capacity that depends on the ability to register, tolerate, and metabolize one’s own reactions without either acting on them or retreating from them. Psychoanalytic training is proposed as one pathway for developing this capacity, particularly through its sustained attention to countertransference as a source of knowledge rather than interference.

Moral witnessing, therefore, is not simply a moral stance but a psychological achievement. Without it, condemnation may remain intact, but understanding—and the possibility of interrupting cycles of violence—remains limited.

Keywords: countertransference, David Lane, empathy, James Baldwin, moral witnessing, psychoanalysis, psychohistory, Robert Jay Lifton, violence

Short Bios:

James William Anderson, PhD, is a specialist in psychobiography. He has published dozens of works in this area, culminating in his 2024 book, Psychobiography: In Search of the Inner Life (Oxford University Press). A Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, he teaches courses on the Psychology of Film and the Psychology of Personality.  He is also a faculty member at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and a past president of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Society.  He serves on the Editorial Board of “Clio’s Psyche.” He can be reached at .

Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD, practices psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy in New York City and North Salem, NY. He teaches at The Object Relations Institute of NY, The American Institute of Psychoanalysis, and the C. G. Jung Institute of NY. A psychohistorian and psychobiographer, he has authored eight books, including A Psychoanalysis for Our Time, The Art of Flourishing, and Psychotherapy Case Studies: Escaping the Prison You Didn’t Know You Were In, and is currently completing two new works in psychobiography. He has lectured internationally on the integration of psychoanalysis, Buddhism, and meditation. Dr. Rubin champions a pluralistic psychoanalysis that draws on the best of all analytic traditions alongside history, art, literature, and anything that illuminates the human condition. Chip Brown described his approach in a 2009 New York Times article as “Enlightenment Therapy.” More information is available at drjeffreyrubin.com.