In this book, James Sias investigates the psychologies of those who have acted in ways widely regarded as evil, and uses this psychological data as a basis for developing his own theory of evil. Sometimes, he claims, an action is so horrific and despicable that a term like “wrong” seems to fall short of capturing its moral status. Likewise, occasionally a person’s character is corrupt in such a way that ordinary trait terms like “selfish” or “insensitive, ” or more general labels like “bad” or “immoral, ” seem inadequate. In such cases, we often resort to calling the person or action “evil.” But what does this term mean? What is it that makes a person or action morally evil? Taking a cue from Hannah Arendt, Sias argues that this sort of evil is essentially a matter of regarding others as “morally superfluous.” In other words, evil is a matter of utter moral disregard. In the course of developing and defending this view, Sias also describes and critiques a number of prominent theories of evil proposed by philosophers in recent years.
Tabella dei contenuti
1. An Introduction to Evil
Part I. The Psychology of Evil: Some Case Studies
2. Serial Murder, Psychopathy, and Objectification
3. Genocide, Ideology, and Dehumanization
4. Money, Greed, and Commodification
Part II. The Philosophy of Evil: Puzzles, Problems, and Theories
5. Three Puzzles about Evil
6. Theories of Evil Personhood
7. A New Theory of Evil
Circa l’autore
James Sias is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Dickinson College, USA. His research focuses primarily upon issues in ethics and moral psychology.
Lingua Inglese ● Formato PDF ● Pagine 230 ● ISBN 9781137568229 ● Dimensione 2.4 MB ● Casa editrice Palgrave Macmillan US ● Città New York ● Paese US ● Pubblicato 2016 ● Scaricabile 24 mesi ● Moneta EUR ● ID 4966502 ● Protezione dalla copia DRM sociale