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How to Counter Moral Evil: Paideia and Nomos

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The 2022 Yearbook of the Digital Governance Research Group

Part of the book series: Digital Ethics Lab Yearbook ((DELY))

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Abstract

In this short article, I argue that (a) the distinction between what counts as natural and moral evil is not fixed; that (b) science and technology can transform natural evil into moral evil; that (c) two main philosophical anthropologies explain moral evil as due to ignorance (Socrates) or wickedness (Hobbes); and hence that (d) a society that seeks to counter evil should rely on science and technology to transform natural evil into moral evil and then on education (Paideia) and regulations (Nomos) to minimise or even eliminate moral evil.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

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Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Emmie Hine and Mariarosaria Taddeo for their feedback on previous versions of this article.

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Floridi, L. (2023). How to Counter Moral Evil: Paideia and Nomos. In: Mazzi, F. (eds) The 2022 Yearbook of the Digital Governance Research Group. Digital Ethics Lab Yearbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28678-0_2

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