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Zusatztext There are many books on evil now, but the history is so well edited by Chignell that you should seriously consider this a must have. Informationen zum Autor Andrew P. Chignell is Professor at Princeton University. He has published articles in early modern philosophy (especially on the work of Immanuel Kant), epistemology and the ethics of belief, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion. He is currently writing a book on Kantian theories of hope. Klappentext The code of conduct for a leading tech company famously says "Don't Be Evil." But what exactly is evil? Is it just badness by another name--the shadow side of good? Or is it something more substantive--a malevolent force or power at work in the universe? These are some of the ontological questions that philosophers have grappled with for centuries. But evil also raises perplexing epistemic and psychological questions. Can we really know evil? Does a victim know evil differently than a perpetrator or witness? What motivates evil-doers? Satan's rebellion, Iago's machinations, and Stalin's genocides may be hard to understand in terms of ordinary reasons, intentions, beliefs, and desires. But what about the more "banal" evils performed by technocrats in a collective: how do we make sense of Adolf Eichmann's self-conception as just an effective bureaucrat deserving of a promotion? Evil: A History collects thirteen essays that tell the story of evil in western thought, starting with its origins in ancient Hebrew wisdom literature and classical Greek drama all the way to Darwinism and Holocaust theory. Thirteen interspersed reflections contextualize philosophical developments by looking at evil through the eyes of animals, poets, mystics, witches, librettists, film directors, and even a tech product manager. Evil: A History will enlighten readers about one of the most alluring and difficult topics in philosophy and intellectual life, and will challenge their assumptions about the very nature of evil. Zusammenfassung Thirteen original essays examine the conceptual history of evil in the west: from ancient Hebrew literature and Greek drama to Darwinism and Holocaust theory. Thirteen reflections contextualize the philosophical developments by looking at evil through the eyes of animals, poets, mystics, witches, librettists, film directors, and tech executives. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Andrew P. Chignell Chapter 1. Evil, Unintelligibility, Radicality: Footnotes to a Correspondence between Hannah Arendt and Karl Jaspers Andrew P. Chignell Chapter 2. Kakology: A Study of Some Evil Words Antonia Ruppel Chapter 3. Evil in the Hebrew Bible: The Case of the Wisdom Literature Carol A. Newsom Reflection: The Early History of Satan: Before the satan Was Evil Esther Hamori Reflection: Meat and Evil Matthew C. Halteman Chapter 4. Explaining Evil in Plato, Euripedes, and Seneca Rachana Kamtekar Chapter 5. Explaining Evil in Late Antiquity: Plotinus and his Critics Dominic J. O'Meara Chapter 6. Augustine on Evil Peter King Reflection: Hell as a Problem of Evil in Medieval Women Mystics Clark West Chapter 7. ... "but draw not nigh this tree": Evil in Early Islamic Thought Nadja Germann Chapter 8. Evil and Late Medieval Thought Brian Davies Reflection: Dante and the Evil of Treachery: Narrative and Philosophy Eleonore Stump Reflection: Calvinism and the Demonic in the Divine Derk Pereboom Reflection: Feminine Evil and Witchcraft Sarah Pinnock Chapter 9. Evils, Privations, and the Early Moderns Samuel Newlands Reflection: Is Don Giovanni Evil? Elaine Sisman Reflection: Kant's Journey on Evil George Huxford Chapter 10. Evil in Classical German Philosophy: Selfhood, Deception, and Despair Allen Wood Reflection: Leopardi, "Everything is Evil" ...
