Naming evil, judging evil / edited by Ruth W. Grant ; with a foreword by Alasdair MacIntyre.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Grant, Ruth W. (Ruth Weissbourd), 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Good and evil--Congresses.

Good and evil.

Judgment (Ethics)--Congresses.

Judgment (Ethics).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Is it more dangerous to call something evil or not to? This fundamental question deeply divides those who fear that the term oversimplifies grave problems and those who worry that, to effectively address such issues as terrorism and genocide, we must first acknowledge them as evil. Recognizing that the way we approach this dilemma can significantly affect both the harm we suffer and the suffering we inflict, a distinguished group of contributors engages in the debate with this series of timely and original essays. Drawing on Western conceptions of evil from the Middle Ages to the present, these pieces demonstrate that, while it may not be possible to definitively settle moral questions, we are still able-and in fact are obligated-to make moral arguments and judgments. Using a wide variety of approaches, the authors raise tough questions: Why is so much evil perpetrated in the name of good? Could evil ever be eradicated? How can liberal democratic politics help us strike a balance between the need to pass judgment and the need to remain tolerant? Their insightful answers exemplify how the sometimes rarefied worlds of political theory, philosophy, theology, and history can illuminate pressing contemporary concerns.

Contents:

Introduction

Where did all the evils go? / Michael Allen Gillespie

Seeing darkness, hearing silence : Augustine's account of evil / Stanley Hauerwas

The Rousseauan revolution and the problem of evil / Ruth W. Grant

Inequality and the problem of evil / Nannerl O. Keohane

The butler did it / J. Peter Euben

Evil and the morality of conviction / David Wong

Combining clarity and complexity : a layered approach to cross-cultural ethics / Elizabeth Kiss

Liberal dilemmas and moral judgment / Malachi Hacohen

Between bigotry and nihilism : moral judgment in pluralist democracies / Thomas A. Spragens, Jr.

Notes:

Revisions of papers presented at a conference held Jan. 27-29, 2005 at Duke University.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-229) and index.

ISBN:

9786611956950

9781281956958

1281956953

9780226306742

0226306747

OCLC:

476228776