The idea of evil

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The idea of evil

Title:

The idea of evil

Author:

Dews, Peter.

ISBN:

9781118346303

Personal Author:

Dews, Peter.

Publication Information:

Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell Pub., 2013, c2008.

Physical Description:

ix, 253 p. ; 22 cm.

Contents:

Kant : the perversion of freedom -- Fichte and Schelling : entangled in nature -- Hegel : a wry theodicy -- Schopenhauer and Nietzsche : suffering from meaninglessness -- Levinas : ethics outrance -- Adorno : radical evil as a category of the social.

Abstract:

"This timely book by philosopher Peter Dews explores the idea of evil, one of the most problematic terms in the contemporary moral vocabulary. Despite the widespread abuse and political manipulation of the term. Dews argues that we cannot do without it. Yet our intuitions about evil pull us in different directions. The centrality of the ideal of rational autonomy to our modern self-image makes it hard for us to accept deeply rooted and obscurely destructive motivations. But once having recognized the tenacity of evil, we may find ourselves succumbing to moral paralysis, even despair.".

"The originality of Dews' book is to show that these concerns are not marginal to the European philosophical tradition. They have perturbed some of the greatest thinkers of the modern age, from Kant and the German Idealists, via Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, to Levinas and Adorno. Written with lucidity and verve, The Idea of Evil traces a struggle to translate religious insights into secular, philosophical terms - and to acknowledge the perverse impulse of human freedom, without abandoning hope for a more just and compassionate world."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Good and evil.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025597713	170 D524.I 2013	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This timely book by philosopher Peter Dews explores the idea of evil, one of the most problematic terms in the contemporary moral vocabulary.
Surveys the intellectual debate on the nature of evil over the past two hundred years Engages with a broad range of discourses and thinkers, from Kant and the German Idealists, via Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, to Levinas and Adorno Suggests that the concept of moral evil touches on a neuralgic point in western culture Argues that, despite the widespread abuse and political manipulation of the term 'evil', we cannot do without it Concludes that if we use the concept of evil, we must acknowledge its religious dimension