It’s certainly possible to overcompensate for the fundamental attribution error.
This is what I think happens when people say things like “Stalin was just a product of his circumstances.” No, he was a manipulative, sadistic psychopath; his circumstances are what made him a world leader and mass murderer instead of a corrupt banker or serial killer.
But in this case, I do think that the admins of Wikipedia are humans of at least normal—if not in fact above-average—moral character, falling prey to their circumstances. Their behavior does not seem SO extreme, SO cruel, that it can’t be fit with what we know about normal human beings.
It’s certainly possible to overcompensate for the fundamental attribution error.
This is what I think happens when people say things like “Stalin was just a product of his circumstances.” No, he was a manipulative, sadistic psychopath; his circumstances are what made him a world leader and mass murderer instead of a corrupt banker or serial killer.
But in this case, I do think that the admins of Wikipedia are humans of at least normal—if not in fact above-average—moral character, falling prey to their circumstances. Their behavior does not seem SO extreme, SO cruel, that it can’t be fit with what we know about normal human beings.