Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Cole, Phillip (1956-....)
Titre(s) : The myth of evil [Texte imprimé] : demonizing the enemy / Phillip Cole
Publication : Westport (Connect.) : Praeger, 2006
Description matérielle : viii, 256 p. ; 25 cm
Comprend : Terrorism, torture, and the problems of evil ; Diabolical evil, searching for Satan
; Philosophies of evil ; Communities of fear ; The enemy within ; Bad seeds ;
The character of evil ; Facing the Holocaust ; Twenty-first-century mythologies.
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (p. [242]-250) and index
"The Myth of Evil explores a contradiction: the belief that human beings cannot commit
acts of pure evil, that they cannot inflict harm for its own sake, and the evidence
that pure 'evil' truly is a human capacity. Acts of horror are committed not by inhuman
'monsters', but by ordinary human beings. This contradiction is clearest in the apparently
'extreme' acts of war criminals, terrorists, serial murderers, sex offenders and children
who kill. Phillip Cole delves deep into our two, cosily established approaches to
evil. There is the traditional approach where evil is a force which creates monsters
in human shape. And there is the 'enlightened' perspective where evil is the consequence
of the actions of misguided or mentally deranged agents. Cole rejects both approaches.
Satan may have played a role in its evolution, but evil is really a myth we have created
about ourselves. And to understand it fully, we must acknowledge this." "Drawing on
the philosophical ideas of Nietzsche, Arendt, Kant, Mary Midgley and others, as well
as theology, psychoanalysis, fictional representations and contemporary political
events such as the global 'war on terror', Cole presents an account of evil that is
thorough and thought-provoking, and which, more fundamentally, compels us to reassess
our understanding of human nature."--BOOK JACKET
Sujet(s) : Bien et mal
Problème du mal
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 0275992160 (alk. paper). - ISBN 9780275992163 (alk. paper) (rel.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb43601696p
Notice n° :
FRBNF43601696
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
