Abstract

This study uses evil as the theoretical framework for exposing racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, antiSemitism and most other forms of bigotry and hatred, violent and non-violent, that exist in the education community, specifically colleges and universities. ;The study begins with the presentation of an actual case which provides the foundation for the premise that evil is the theoretical frame for acts of hatred and for "isms." ;By integrating religion, philosophy, literature, and experience, this philosophical phenomenological study searches for insights into a particular problem, evil. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the works of Hebraic scholars, the Torah, Martin Buber, Viktor Frankl, Nel Noddings, Sharon Welch, Carol Gilligan, Ernest Boyer, George D. Kuh and fictional characters from classic literature, the complicated questions of what causes good people to participate in evil acts, why people cannot resist them, and how an understanding of evil can effect the education community are addressed. ;This study concludes with a matrix of condition that creates the possibility of change on an ontological level, deeper than institutional policies and procedures. To confront evil, to come face to face with evil, we must study it, demystify it, expose it, and understand it. Then we can educate for evil