One set of disengagement practices operates on the reconstruction of the behaviour
itself. People do not usually engage in harmful conduct until they have justi ed, to
themselves, the morality of their actions. In this process of moral justi cation,
pernicious conduct is made personally and socially acceptable by portraying it as
serving socially worthy or moral purposes. People then can act on a moral imperative
and preserve their view of themselves as moral agents while in icting harm on
others.