Moral Choices Made During Holocaust Provide Lessons for Today; Reclassifying 'Enemy' May Be Key to Better Choices.(The Hand of Compassion: Portraits of Moral Choice During the Holocaust)(Book Review)

Byline: University of California, Irvine

IRVINE, Calif., July 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Pictures of brutality pervade the news - Los Angeles police officers allegedly beating a suspect, American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, Islamic militants beheading hostages. How can people commit such horrible acts of violence toward others?

"Identity and the way people view themselves in relation to others are critical factors in moral choice," said Kristen Monroe, a professor of political science at UC Irvine and director of the UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality. "It is the ability to categorize other people, to put them in …