The Routledge Handbook Of The Philosophy Of Evil

Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Series Page......Page 3
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Table of Contents......Page 6
Notes on contributors......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Historical accounts of evil......Page 14
Thinking about evil – the recent secular approach......Page 15
The purpose and structure of the Handbook......Page 17
Notes......Page 24
References......Page 25
PART I: Historical explorations of evil......Page 26
Chapter 1: Plato on evil......Page 28
Metaphysics: evil and the structure of the universe......Page 29
Evil in politics: civil strife and tyranny......Page 33
The education of desire: morality, virtue and vice......Page 37
Notes......Page 40
References......Page 41
A two-sided view......Page 43
Evil as corruption in good things......Page 44
Moral evil as disordered love......Page 46
Sin and grace......Page 47
Providence and evil......Page 49
The controversial Augustine......Page 50
Notes......Page 52
References......Page 53
For Further Reading......Page 54
The ontology and types of evil......Page 55
The causes of evil......Page 57
Evil and God......Page 59
Objections and replies......Page 63
Notes......Page 65
References......Page 66
Chapter 4: Machiavelli: The drama of politics and its inherent evil......Page 68
Machiavelli’s world......Page 69
Evil in politics: corruption, which generates tyranny......Page 71
Machiavelli’s man......Page 74
How to remain a good man while doing evil deeds......Page 76
Conclusion: the redeeming element in politics......Page 79
Notes......Page 80
References......Page 82
Chapter 5: Hobbes on evil......Page 83
Evil in moral philosophy......Page 84
Sin and temporal obligations......Page 85
Sin and spiritual obligations......Page 88
Free will, moral evil, and God’s omnipotence......Page 90
Conclusion......Page 93
References......Page 94
Introduction......Page 96
The nature of evil and its different kinds......Page 97
God’s intellect as the root of the possibility of evil......Page 99
God’s election of the best and the permission of evil......Page 102
Notes......Page 106
References......Page 107
Chapter 7: Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the origin and nature of evil......Page 110
Rousseau’s theodicy......Page 111
Rousseau’s conception of evil......Page 113
Rousseau’s genealogy of evil......Page 115
Overcoming evil......Page 116
Rousseau and our problem with evil......Page 118
Notes......Page 120
References......Page 121
Chapter 8: Kant: The evil in all of us......Page 122
Kant’s criticism of the distinction between natural and moral evil......Page 123
Evil actions and evil persons......Page 124
Radical evil......Page 127
Stages of evil and predispositions to the good......Page 129
Kant’s exclusion of the diabolical will......Page 131
Conclusion......Page 132
Notes......Page 133
References......Page 134
Chapter 9: Sade: Mushroom clouds and silver linings......Page 135
Adieu, mon dieu: a black theodicy......Page 137
When nature calls: hedonism to the hilt......Page 139
Sade beyond sadism......Page 141
From pathology to principle......Page 143
Fiction as reality’s rape......Page 144
Notes......Page 146
References......Page 147
Introduction......Page 148
Good and evil are interpretations, not realities......Page 149
Diagnosis of the moral interpretation......Page 150
A different interpretation......Page 152
Critique......Page 154
An alternative ideal and the trouble of realizing it......Page 156
Conclusion......Page 158
References......Page 159
Other references......Page 160
Chapter 11: Hannah Arendt’s double account of evil: Political superfluousness
and moral thoughtlessness......Page 161
Radical evil and the systematic production of superfluousness......Page 162
Eichmann and the thoughtless banality of evil......Page 169
Notes......Page 174
References......Page 175
Natural or divine evil: Camus, Ivan Karamazov, Saint Augustine, and Doctor Rieux......Page 176
Moral or political evil: secularizing the divine right to kill......Page 179
The psychology of evil: The Fall, guilt, and the renegade......Page 183
Notes......Page 186
References......Page 187
PART II: Recent secular explorations of evil......Page 188
Introduction: the myth of evil......Page 190
The philosophy of evil......Page 192
The philosophy of dispositions......Page 195
Beyond the philosophy of monsters......Page 197
References......Page 201
The different senses of evil......Page 202
Two explananda......Page 203
Objections to using the term “evil”......Page 204
A theory of evil......Page 207
Using evil as an explanatory concept......Page 210
Notes......Page 213
References......Page 214
Chapter 15: Defining the concept of evil: Insights from our pre-cognitive responses......Page 216
The case for secular accounts of evil......Page 217
Different approaches to developing secular conceptions of evil......Page 219
The phenomenology of evil......Page 220
Defining the concept of evil......Page 222
Solving two problems for secular accounts of evil......Page 224
Final comments......Page 226
Notes......Page 227
References......Page 229
Why should we care?......Page 231
Preliminary remarks......Page 232
Four interpretations of the qualitative difference thesis......Page 233
Evil is qualitatively distinct from ordinary wrongdoing......Page 239
Notes......Page 243
References......Page 245
Action-based accounts......Page 247
Absence-based accounts......Page 249
Affective accounts......Page 250
Hybrid accounts......Page 253
Extremity accounts......Page 255
References......Page 256
Why define evil?......Page 258
The concept of evil action......Page 259
Evil and wrongdoing......Page 261
Evil and extremity......Page 262
Banality v. psychological thickness......Page 264
Hidden essences and pluralism......Page 266
References......Page 267
The concept of evil......Page 269
Four types of conceptions of evil actions......Page 270
Kramer’s mixed theory of evil actions......Page 272
Formosa’s combination theory of evil......Page 275
Notes......Page 278
References......Page 279
PART III: Evil and other issues......Page 280
Chapter 20: Evil and punishment......Page 282
Evil and the limits of philosophy......Page 283
Harm and malevolence......Page 287
Senselessness, thoughtlessness, pointlessness, and essential unjustifiability......Page 290
Evil and the severity of punishment......Page 292
Notes......Page 293
References......Page 294
Introduction......Page 295
Evil as the unforgivable......Page 296
Evils as possibly forgivable but never entailing reconciliation......Page 298
Evils as only forgivable by direct victims......Page 299
Forgiveness of evils as inevitably incomplete or untrue (especially when unilateral)......Page 300
Forgiveness of evils as an elective gift and never required......Page 301
Who benefits? Prioritizing the victims of evils......Page 303
Conclusion......Page 304
References......Page 305
Concepts of evil......Page 307
Evil and responsibility......Page 310
The general problems of determinism and moral luck......Page 311
The threat of shrinking agency......Page 313
Conclusion......Page 316
References......Page 317
Chapter 23: Evil and power......Page 319
The primacy of the whole: privatio boni and theodicies......Page 320
Freedom as absolute transgression......Page 321
Modern power and secularization of evil......Page 323
Escalating radicality......Page 324
Normality of evil......Page 326
References......Page 328
Introduction......Page 330
What is a child?......Page 331
Being evil in childhood......Page 333
Doing evil in childhood......Page 336
References......Page 339
Chapter 25: Evil’s diachronic characteristics......Page 341
Notes......Page 351
References......Page 353
Introduction......Page 355
Research on genocide and mass atrocities......Page 356
Theorizing collective evil......Page 363
Notes......Page 366
References......Page 368
Introduction......Page 373
Concepts and problems of evil......Page 374
China: Confucianism and Daoism......Page 375
Indian thought: Hinduism and Buddhism......Page 379
Islamic philosophy......Page 383
Judaism......Page 387
Conclusions......Page 390
Notes......Page 391
References......Page 392
Index......Page 394