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have you ever read any of M. Scott Peck's books ?

I can't say I've ever heard of such.

M. Scott Peck is a clinical psychologist who became a Christian as a result of experiences he had while exploring the subject of human evil. He had come across some clinical cases which had defied any psychological diagnosis which he came to view as examples of human evil. This led him to further investigation and discovery which he documents in the book ... The People of the the Lie.

I read the book, probably fifteen years ago and thought that it was fascinating (and insightful). In the book, Peck ultimately, equates evil with, what he calls, scape-goating behaviour, which he defines as what occurs when ...
... persons refuse to take responsibility for what they should in their lives, such that every negative thing which occurs in their lives, they blame on others, ... which is followed up by fairly sociopathic behaviour.
A synopsis of one of the cases he presents in his book (with names and pertinent details changed, of course) is presented below.
Dr. Peck gets a calls to sit down with a teenaged boy, Bobby, who was apprehended by the local police for stealing a car, which he subsequently wrecked. Dr. Peck meets with Bobby and almost immediately determines that the young man (age 15) is severely depressed. Bobby looks much like any other youth of his age, with the exception that he appears physically unhealthy, ... his coloring is bad, his skin and hair have no luster, his eyes, which he keeps perpetually lowered, are dull, and his arms are covered with sores, at which he continually picks.

Dr. Peck attempts to talk to Bobby, but gets no telling response. When asked about why he stole the car, he replies that he doesn't know why. When asked about how things are going in his life, . . . at school, home, etc., Bobby replies dully that everything is okay. Dr. Peck can see very clearly that everything is not okay. He also is aware of the fact, from a brief conversation with Bobby's parents, that Bobby's brother Stuart had committed suicide the year before and that they think that it might have something to do with Bobby's general state of decline. But even as the doctor gently probes the topic of his brother's suicide with Bobby, he finds that he cannot get any real emotion in his response. Dr. Peck observes that something has, for all practical purposes, shut Bobby down. He then turns his attention to trying to somehow breach this state of resignation by searching for a topic of discussion which will generate even a slight emotional response from Bobby. He recalls that Christmas has not been long since past, and that most kids exhibit some type of emotional response to the topic of Christmas.

So, the doctor asks Bobby about his Christmas. Did he enjoy it, . . . etc. But even on the topic of Christmas, there appears to be no glimmer of emotion in Bobby's now characteristic response of . . . "It was okay." But Dr. Peck persists. He asks Bobby what he got for Christmas. He is unprepared for Bobby's answer, which is . . . "A gun." Dr. Peck is momentarily stunned. In his search for some topic of discussion which will generate some emotion in Bobby, he seems to have stumbled upon something which might turn out to be significant in his depression. Almost as quickly, however, his mind rationalizes that this may very well not be as significant as it appears. Perhaps this is a family where Dad hunts and, at times, takes his sons with him. Perhaps Bobby had asked for a gun. Perhaps it's not even a real gun (i.e. a pellet or BB gun). But, he needs to know more, so he asks Bobby whether he had wanted a gun for Christmas. Bobby's still non-responsive reply is that it was okay. Dr. Peck rephrases his question. He asks Bobby if he had asked for a gun for Christmas. Bobby's reply is that he had asked for a tennis racket. Dr. Peck now feels that he must be very clear about what he's hearing. He says to Bobby, "So, what you're saying is that, even though you wanted a tennis racket, your PARENTS got you a gun for Christmas." Bobby nods silently. Dr. Peck begins to dread the course the interview is taking. He suspects that he is about to uncover something utterly monstrous. He asks Bobby what kind of gun it was that he got for Christmas. Bobby says that it was a 45 revolver. The doctor has found his monstrosity. From the police report on Bobby's brother's suicide, he remembers that the gun that Bobby's brother killed himself with was a 45 revolver. Despite mounting nausea, Dr. Peck knows that he must continue. He asks Bobby how he feels about the fact that, for Christmas, his parents gave him the same kind of gun that his brother killed himself with a year ago. Bobby's answer is a surprise. He says that it wasn't the same type of gun. Dr. Peck hears these words and experiences a flood of relief. Somehow, either the police have misinformed him or he has misunderstood. But then Bobby finishes his statement . . . "... it was the same gun." "It was the same gun?" Dr. Peck repeats dumbly, as he is, once again, blindsided by Bobby's response. He manages to put his growing horror on hold, pulls himself together and asks Bobby, once again, the inevitable question . . . "How does it make you feel that you got the same gun that your brother killed himself with for Christmas?" Now, for the first time in the session, Bobby's demeanor changes. He now appears to be extremely uncomfortable, begins to pick at the sores on his arms with a renewed intensity, and darts his eyes furtively back and forth to the sides of the room, as if desperately seeking an escape.

Dr. Peck now knows why Bobby is so depressed. To his utter horror, he realizes that Bobby's parents are trying to kill him, or, to be more accurate, trying to get Bobby to kill himself. He wonders if Bobby has any conscious realization of this. Most likely he doesn't, as children usually have an extremely difficult time believing that their parents mean anything but the best for them. In cases like Bobby's, where parents are deliberately doing harm to their children, the children involved rarely see their parents as the ones having a problem. Usually these children feel that they, themselves, somehow, must be at fault. They conclude that they must be evil (or bad, in children's terms) for their parents to treat them so. This explains why sores cover Bobby's arms and why he continually picks at himself. Bobby has been persuaded, by his parents' attempts to get him to kill himself, that he is bad, and he picks at himself in an attempt to try and get that badness out.

But it is not Bobby who is evil. It is his parents, and if Bobby is left in their care, they will, most assuredly, destroy him, as they, most likely, destroyed his older brother. They have already demonstrated that they are willing and capable of doing this.

So, Dr. Peck now takes steps to find some protection for Bobby. He asks Bobby if he has any relatives that he likes and that seem to like him. Bobby replies that he he has an aunt that he likes and that, he thinks, likes him. The doctor then asks Bobby whether he would feel okay about maybe staying with his aunt for awhile. He explains that, sometimes, when a tragedy occurs in the family setting, such as was the case with Bobby's brother's suicide, and a member of the family is having difficulty recovering from that tragedy, that it is sometimes best to remove that person from the setting of the tragedy. Bobby indicates that he understands and says that he wouldn't mind staying with his aunt for awhile. Dr. Peck detects a new note of hopefulness in his otherwise dulled voice and he now knows what he must do.
Dr. Peck goes on to recount a subsequent interview with Bobby's parents, where they refuse to acknowledge that there was anything wrong with giving Bobby the gun for Christmas, and that they were sure that it had nothing to do with Bobby's depression.

Bobby's parents are also, adamantly, against allowing Bobby to live with his aunt for awhile ... until Dr. Peck states that, unless they agreed to such, he would have to bring the case to the attention of the authorities. At this point, the parents' tune changes, and, suddenly, they think that it's the best idea in the world for Bobby to stay with his aunt, which Dr. Peck arranges.

The book describes other cases which Dr. Peck experienced (including the first case of a man who had made a pact with the Devil and ... Dr. Peck's participation in an exorcism), as well as Dr. Peck's insights and conclusions.

Like I said before, I found this to be a fascinating book, which provided some uncanny insights into the phenomenon of human evil.