The nature of good and evil : understanding the many acts of moral and immoral behavior / Samuel P. Oliner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Oliner, Samuel P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics--Psychological aspects.

Ethics.

Good and evil--Case studies.

Good and evil.

Altruism--Case studies.

Altruism.

Genocide--Case studies.

Genocide.

Social psychology.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xvi, 266 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

St. Paul, MN : Paragon House, 2011.

Summary:

Oliner (emeritus, sociology, Humboldt State U.) presents a wide-ranging meditation on the nature of good and evil, limiting the terms generally to mean acts of helping others as good and acts of harming others as bad. His discussion looks to history, psychology, and other disciplines for insights; explores examples of genocide (the Holocaust and the Armenian and Rwandan genocides) and acts of resistance and heroism in the face of genocide; and draws on his own personal experience as a twelve-year-old in Nazi-occupied Poland. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Follow the leader: why people go against their better judgment?

How could they do that?: understanding the many sources and faces of evil

Silently standing by: why we do or don't come to the aid of those who need us

Paving the way to resistance: the gift of good during the Nazi occupation 1939-1945

Preconditions of resistance during the Armenian and Rwandan genocides

Nature of goodness

The world of heroes: why we need heroes

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781557788962

1557788960

OCLC:

727357116