Routledge (2004)
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Abstract |
I try to differentiate evil from ordinary wrong-doing without succumbing to a demonic account of evilthat makes the motivation for awful actions different in kind to that for less awful ones. I argue that much - not all - evil is perpetrated by people disturbingly like the rest of us. I discuss the possibility that evil is a dangerous and self-perpetuating concept, licencing us to label people in ways that encourage atrocity. I allow that there is a lot to this suggestion while also insisting that the distinction between wrong and evil is robust. I raise the possibility that evil and ordinary wrong are in some ways orthogonal, so that one act may be more wrong but less evil than another (and conversely.)
I might add that my account has nothing to do with theodicy. In fact I think the traditional 'problem of evil' is a distraction from more important issues.
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Keywords | Good and evil evil motivation barrier theory of evil banality of evil atrocity |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
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Call number | BJ1401.M67 2004 |
ISBN(s) | 0415305195 9780415305198 |
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Citations of this work BETA
Is Evil Action Qualitatively Distinct From Ordinary Wrongdoing?Luke Russell - 2007 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 85 (4):659 – 677.
Dispositional Accounts of Evil Personhood.Luke Russell - 2010 - Philosophical Studies 149 (2):231 - 250.
Evil and Moral Detachment: Further Reflections on The Mirror Thesis.Alfred Archer - 2016 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 24 (2):201-218.
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Dispositional Accounts of Evil Personhood.Luke Russell - 2010 - Philosophical Studies 149 (2):231 - 250.
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