( CNN ) -- A Syrian rebel carves the heart out of a dead man and bites it . His comrades nearby cheer : `` God is great . '' This is from a video that is circulating on the Internet . The appalling footage has all the world asking : What kind of people could do this ? We tell ourselves these men must be monsters , people utterly unlike us , people we could never understand . But we do n't say this because it is true . We say this because it is comforting to think so . The far more frightening possibility we must face is that such evil is not diabolically inhuman or beyond understanding . It is human -- very human . How can ordinary men commit such horrific acts ? The war criminals I have met did not start out by desecrating corpses , torturing villagers or murdering children . They got there slowly . There are some men who are natural monsters , but most monsters are made . This is how you make them . First , take a man ( and yes , it is most often a man ) and isolate him . Separate him from his family and friends and put him in an information bubble , an echo chamber cut off from the outside world . Make him conform to the values of his new group by exploiting his insecurity and need for approval . This is the first step in any war . Second , train him to think that the world is painted in black and white , not shades of gray . Train him in either-or , binary thinking . Either you are my friend or my enemy . Either you are pure or impure . Either the people you love are safe or they are in immediate peril . Either you are all right or you are all wrong . Third , physically exhaust him . Break down his body and spirit -- through brutal training or prolonged combat -- until he ca n't think straight . Subject him to a system of harsh and arbitrary punishment and equally arbitrary rewards . Condition him to feel helpless . A man who feels like he has lost control over his life is a dangerous man , because hurting others feels like control . Fourth -- and this is the most important part -- start small . Work up to atrocity step by step . Put him into a strange and frightening environment with minimal regulation . Let the aggression escalate . Each violent act he commits while trying to survive will make the next act feel easier , more natural . The first time he kills a villager , it is terrifying . The second time , it is hard . The third or fourth time , it starts to feel almost easy . Eventually , he finds himself competing with his fellow soldiers to see who can do it fastest , most often , most creatively . Watching videos like this , and thinking thoughts like this , it is easy to lose hope . In war , are we doomed always to descend into barbarism ? The answer is no . The nightmare video from Syria is not inevitable . The very same steps used for creating monsters can also be used to stop monstrosity -- you just need to reverse the steps . Some people are born moral heroes , but most are made . And this is how you make them . First , take a young man and start small . Work up to altruism and moral courage step by step . Each small thing he does to attend to the suffering of another or stand up against injustice will make the next act feel easier , more natural . Second , give him a clear system of rules with predictable consequences . Teach him he has the ability to make choices about his life , and that these choices matter . Third , teach him that the world 's problems are n't as simple as us-versus-them , good-versus-evil . Teach him that there are n't easy solutions to complex problems . Teach him to tolerate , without fear and anxiety , life 's difficult ambiguity and uncertainty . And finally -- to those of you , like me , who are parents of young boys -- teach him to seek out `` the other '' : Other clubs and groups , other sources of information , other places to see , other kinds of people , other cultural values . Spoil him with diversity , so that if there ever comes a time when he is called to war , he will always remember to see the world through the other 's eyes . He will fight , but he will fight against an enemy that he sees as a person , like him . He will see their humanity , and in so doing , he will preserve his own . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James Dawes .
A video shows a Syrian rebel carving the heart out of a dead soldier and eating it . James Dawes : How can ordinary men commit such horrific acts ? Comment: Dawes : The same steps used for creating monsters can show how to stop atrocities .