Being Evil

A Philosophical Perspective

Being Evil
Luke Russell
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NZ$ 26.99
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Hardback
Not defined - 160pg
8 Oct 2020 UK
9780198862079
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We regularly encounter appalling wrongdoing, with the media offering a depressing parade of violent assault, rape, and murder. Yet sometimes even the cynical and world-weary amongst us are taken aback. Sometimes we confront a crime so terrible, so horrendous, so deeply wrong, that we reach for the word ' evil' . The 9/11 terrorist attacks were not merely wrong, but evil. A serial killer who tortures their victims is not merely a bad person. They are evil. And as theHolocaust showed us, we must remain vigilant against the threat of evil. But what exactly is it? If we use the word ' evil' , are we buying into a naive Manichean worldview, in which two cosmic forces ofgood and evil are pitted against one another? Are we guilty of demonizing our enemies? How does ' evil' go beyond what is merely bad or wrong? This book explores the answers that philosophers have offered to these questions. Luke Russell discusses why some philosophers think that evil is a myth or a fantasy, while others think that evil is real, and is a concept that plays an important role in contemporary secular morality. Along the way he asks whether evil is alwayshorrific and incomprehensible, or if it can be banal. Considering if there is a special psychological hallmark that sets the evildoers apart from the rest of us, Russell also engages with ongoing discussionsover psychopathy and empathy, analysing the psychology behind evildoing.
Russell demonstrates that while certain familiar conceptions of evil are woefully inadequate, it is still possible to formulate simple and useful definitions of what it is for actions and people to be evil, and these definitions make it clear why caution is called for in labelling people evil. Anyone interested in ideas will enjoy and profit from reading this book. * Professor Michael Smith, Princeton University *
Luke Russell is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sydney, where he teaches ethics and critical thinking. Luke has written on various topics in the field of moral philosophy, including evil, forgiveness, virtue, and vice, and is the author of Evil: A Philosophical Investigation (OUP, 2014).

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