The banality of good and evil : moral lessons from the Shoah and Jewish tradition / David R. Blumenthal ; foreword by James W. Fowler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blumenthal, David R.

Series:

Moral traditions & moral arguments

Moral traditions & moral arguments series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Good and evil--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Good and evil.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Moral and ethical aspects.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Government, Resistance to--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Government, Resistance to.

Helping behavior--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Helping behavior.

Jewish ethics.

Physical Description:

viii, 326 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, [1999]

Summary:

Blumenthal develops a new theory of human behavior that identifies the social and psychological factors that foster both good and evil behavior.

Contents:

1 Roadmap 1

I Knew a Jewish Nazi 1

Analytic Reprise 4

Counterpoint 7

Getting from There to Here 9

On Matters of Personal Privilege 11

Counter-text 15

Part 1 The Descriptive-Analytic Task 17

2 The Field 19

The Studies 19

Some Philosophical, Moral-Legal, and Methodological Problems 21

Toward a Field Theory of That which Facilitates Both Good and Evil 27

The Art of Moral Living 32

Counter-text 33

3 Hierarchy and Role 35

Insertion into a Hierarchy Which Does, or Which Tolerates, Evil 35

Insertion into a Hierarchy Which Does, or Which Tolerates, Good 41

Role and Rule in Determining Antisocial Action and Responsibility 45

Role and Rule in Determining Prosocial Action and Responsibility 51

Counter-text 55

4 Teaching and Praxis 58

Teaching That Leads to Evil 58

Teaching That Leads to Good 66

The Praxis of Evil 75

The Praxis of Good 80

Counter-text 82

5 Childhood Discipline and Personality 84

Insights from the Model of the Abused Child 84

Insights from the Model of the Authoritarian Personality 92

Abuse, Authoritarianism, and the Culture of Cruelty 96

The Prosocial Childhood and the Altruistic Personality 97

Modeling, Prosocial Discipline, and the Culture of Care 100

Counter-text 101

Part 2 The Prescriptive-Normative Task 103

6 Transition 105

Recapitulation 105

God's Grief 106

Humanity's Response 108

Co-text 114

7 The Affections and Value-Concepts of the Prosocial Life 115

"Affections" 115

Eleven Affections of the Prosocial Life 116

"Value-Concepts" 117

Twelve Value-Concepts of the Prosocial Life 119

Weaving the Web: Value-Concepts, Affections, and Teachings 123

Weaving the Web: Moral Structures and Patterns of Behavior 124

Co-text 125

8 Do This 126

Pre-text 126

Religion and the Secular Humanist Tradition 127

Failure Creates a Problem 128

Four Very Strong Recommendations for Encouraging Prosocial Attitudes and Behaviors 132

The Ten Commandments for Resistant and Caring Living 138

Co-text 139

Part 3 The Voice of Jewish Tradition 141

9 The Tradition and the Problem 143

The Tradition and the Social Sciences 143

Reading Rabbinic Texts 147

Counter-text 148

10 Some Jewish Prosocial Value-Concepts 149

Tselem (Image) 150

Brit (Convenant) 152

Tsedek (Justice) 157

Hasidut / Hesed (Caring) 160

Counter-text 166

11 Stories of Resistance and Goodness 168

Resistance to Human Authority 168

Stories of Goodness 173

Resisting God 174

Counter-text 180

12 Teachings of Resistance and Goodness 182

Hokheah Tokhiah (You Shall Surely Reprove Your Acquaintance) 182

Lo Tisna' (Do Not Hate Your Fellow in Your Heart) 184

Yetser Tov (Good Impulse) and Yetser ha-Ra' (Evil Impulse) 188

Kiddush ha-Shem (Martyrdom) 193

Counter-text 195

13 Four Case Studies 196

'Ein Shaliah le-Dvar 'Avera (Military Disobedience) 196

Lo Tihye Aharei Rabbim Lera'ot (Judicial Dissent) 202

Lo Ta'amod (The Obligation to Rescue) 206

Violence and Nonviolence 212

Counter-text 220

14 Hierarchy, Authority, and Autonomy in Teaching Judaism 221

Applying the Lessons 221

Counter-text 227

Aftermatter 229

A The New Ethical Code of the IDF 231

B The Ten Commandments of the Solomon Schechter Day School Community 239

C The 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action (The Einstein Institute) 241

D Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) 245

E Six Principles of Nonviolence (The King Center) 247

F List of Prosocial Resources on the Web 249

G Syllabus for "The Problem of Evil" 252

H Social Action Rabbinics Curriculum: Na'aseh ve-Nishma' 256

I Introduction to Holocaust and Human Behavior 262.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-313) and indexes.

ISBN:

0878407154

0878407146

OCLC:

39923204