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Author: C. Fred Alford Publisher: Cornell University Press ISBN: 1501720511 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
C. Fred Alford interviewed working people, prisoners, and college students in order to discover how people experience evil—in themselves, in others, and in the world. What people meant by evil, he found, was a profound, inchoate feeling of dread so overwhelming that they tried to inflict it on others to be rid of it themselves. A leather-jacketed emergency medical technician, for example, one of the many young people for whom vampires are oddly seductive icons of evil, said he would "give anything to be a vampire." Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, Alford argues that the primary experience of evil is not moral but existential. The problems of evil are complicated by the terror it evokes, a threat to the self so profound it tends to be isolated deep in the mind. Alford suggests an alternative to this bleak vision. The exercise of imagination—in particular, imagination that takes the form of a shared narrative—offers an active and practical alternative to the contemporary experience of evil. Our society suffers from a paucity of shared narratives and the creative imagination they inspire.
Author: C. Fred Alford Publisher: Cornell University Press ISBN: 1501720511 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
C. Fred Alford interviewed working people, prisoners, and college students in order to discover how people experience evil—in themselves, in others, and in the world. What people meant by evil, he found, was a profound, inchoate feeling of dread so overwhelming that they tried to inflict it on others to be rid of it themselves. A leather-jacketed emergency medical technician, for example, one of the many young people for whom vampires are oddly seductive icons of evil, said he would "give anything to be a vampire." Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, Alford argues that the primary experience of evil is not moral but existential. The problems of evil are complicated by the terror it evokes, a threat to the self so profound it tends to be isolated deep in the mind. Alford suggests an alternative to this bleak vision. The exercise of imagination—in particular, imagination that takes the form of a shared narrative—offers an active and practical alternative to the contemporary experience of evil. Our society suffers from a paucity of shared narratives and the creative imagination they inspire.
Author: Lance Morrow Publisher: Basic Books ISBN: 0786728167 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
Long couched only in theological terms, and popularly personified by the despots of history, the nature of evil has resisted explanation. In this singular survey of this mysterious but all too often palpable force, veteran Time magazine writer Lance Morrow examines the unmistakable ways evil influences our global culture-and how that global culture in turn has magnified evil's menace. Its dramatic reemergence in the national consciousness-against a backdrop of high-tech, sensationalized violence-makes his updated understanding both timely and absolutely necessary. Drawing on examples both obscure and splashed across the headlines, Morrow seeks to understand how evil works, and what purpose, if any, it serves. From the heartrending to the harrowing, from quiet lies to catastrophic acts, his stories are drawn from over thirty years of experience as a revered journalist and essayist. The result is a brilliant synthesis of a lifetime of observation that elegantly illuminates a chronically elusive but fascinating subject.
Author: Julia Shaw Publisher: Abrams ISBN: 1683352084 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
An expert in criminology and psychology uses science to understand evil in today’s society. What is it about evil that we find so compelling? From our obsession with serial killers to violence in pop culture, we seem inescapably drawn to the stories of monstrous acts and the aberrant people who commit them. But evil, Dr. Julia Shaw argues, is largely subjective. What one may consider normal, like sex before marriage, eating meat, or working on Wall Street, others find abhorrent. And if evil is only in the eye of the beholder, can it be said to exist at all? In Evil, Shaw uses an engrossing mix of science, popular culture, and real-life examples to break down timely and provocative issues. How similar is your brain to a psychopath’s? How many people have murder fantasies? Can artificial intelligence be evil? Do your sexual proclivities make you a bad person? Who becomes a terrorist? If you could travel back in time, would you kill baby Hitler? In asking these questions, Shaw urges readers to discover empathy and to rethink and reshape what it means to be bad. Evil is a wide-ranging exploration into a fascinating, darkly compelling subject from wickedly smart and talented writer. Praise for Evil “A brilliant panorama that elucidates humanity’s dark side. . . . This science-based foundation for studying the minds of sadists, mass murderers, freaks and creeps, as well the new role of tech in promoting evil is presented in a totally engaging fashion.” —Philip Zimbardo, PhD; Professor Emeritus, Stanford University; author of The Lucifer Effect “This overview of various kinds of aberrant behavior grouped under the umbrella term evil is well backed up by the expertise of Shaw. . . . Shaw’s work will be particularly appropriate for college and high school libraries for its sober-minded, academically rigorous examination of an oft-sensationalized subject.” —Publishers Weekly “Capably written with a smooth mix of scientific insight and theoretical thought, the book will hopefully inspire empathy and understanding rather than hysteria and condemnation. A consistently fascinating journey into the darker sides of the human condition that will push on the boundaries of readers’ comfort zones.” —Kirkus Reviews
Author: James Sias Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1137568224 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 230
Book Description
In this book, James Sias investigates the psychologies of those who have acted in ways widely regarded as evil, and uses this psychological data as a basis for developing his own theory of evil. Sometimes, he claims, an action is so horrific and despicable that a term like “wrong” seems to fall short of capturing its moral status. Likewise, occasionally a person’s character is corrupt in such a way that ordinary trait terms like “selfish” or “insensitive,” or more general labels like “bad” or “immoral,” seem inadequate. In such cases, we often resort to calling the person or action “evil.” But what does this term mean? What is it that makes a person or action morally evil? Taking a cue from Hannah Arendt, Sias argues that this sort of evil is essentially a matter of regarding others as “morally superfluous.” In other words, evil is a matter of utter moral disregard. In the course of developing and defending this view, Sias also describes and critiques a number of prominent theories of evil proposed by philosophers in recent years.
Author: Claudia Card Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199881790 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 304
Book Description
What distinguishes evils from ordinary wrongs? Is hatred a necessarily evil? Are some evils unforgivable? Are there evils we should tolerate? What can make evils hard to recognize? Are evils inevitable? How can we best respond to and live with evils? Claudia Card offers a secular theory of evil that responds to these questions and more. Evils, according to her theory, have two fundamental components. One component is reasonably foreseeable intolerable harm -- harm that makes a life indecent and impossible or that makes a death indecent. The other component is culpable wrongdoing. Atrocities, such as genocides, slavery, war rape, torture, and severe child abuse, are Cards paradigms because in them these key elements are writ large. Atrocities deserve more attention than secular philosophers have so far paid them. They are distinguished from ordinary wrongs not by the psychological states of evildoers but by the seriousness of the harm that is done. Evildoers need not be sadistic:they may simply be negligent or unscrupulous in pursuing their goals. Cards theory represents a compromise between classic utilitarian and stoic alternatives (including Kants theory of radical evil). Utilitarians tend to reduce evils to their harms; Stoics tend to reduce evils to the wickedness of perpetrators: Card accepts neither reduction. She also responds to Nietzsches challenges about the worth of the concept of evil, and she uses her theory to argue that evils are more important than merely unjust inequalities. She applies the theory in explorations of war rape and violence against intimates. She also takes up what Primo Levi called the gray zone, where victims become complicit in perpetrating on others evils that threaten to engulf themselves. While most past accounts of evil have focused on perpetrators, Card begins instead from the position of the victims, but then considers more generally how to respond to -- and live with -- evils, as victims, as perpetrators, and as those who have become both.
Author: Johanna Michaelsen Publisher: Harvest House Publishers ISBN: 9780890813225 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
The last 15 years have witnessed an unprecedented explosion of interest in psychic phenomena. Johanna Michaelsen shares an extraordinary story about how she became a personal assistant to a psychic surgeon and witnessed miraculous healings, yet realized the true occultic source behind The Beautiful Side of Evil. Over 235,000 sold!
Author: Chris Nodder Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 1118654811 Category : Computers Languages : en Pages : 320
Book Description
How to make customers feel good about doing what you want Learn how companies make us feel good about doing what theywant. Approaching persuasive design from the dark side, this bookmelds psychology, marketing, and design concepts to show whywe’re susceptible to certain persuasive techniques. Packedwith examples from every nook and cranny of the web, it provideseasily digestible and applicable patterns for putting these designtechniques to work. Organized by the seven deadly sins, itincludes: Pride — use social proof to position your product in linewith your visitors’ values Sloth — build a path of least resistance that leads userswhere you want them to go Gluttony — escalate customers’ commitment and useloss aversion to keep them there Anger — understand the power of metaphysical argumentsand anonymity Envy — create a culture of status around your product andfeed aspirational desires Lust — turn desire into commitment by using emotion todefeat rational behavior Greed — keep customers engaged by reinforcing thebehaviors you desire Now you too can leverage human fallibility to create powerfulpersuasive interfaces that people will love to use — but willyou use your new knowledge for good or evil? Learn more on thecompanion website, evilbydesign.info.
Author: Hugh MacLeod Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101475757 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 126
Book Description
The acclaimed author of Ignore Everybody is back with more irreverent wisdom, wit, and original cartoons. "It has never been easier to make a great living doing what you love. But to make it happen, first you need an EVIL PLAN. Everybody needs to get away from lousy bosses, from boring, dead-end jobs that they hate, and ACTUALLY start doing something they love, something that matters. Life is short." -Hugh MacLeod Freud once said that in order to be truly happy people need two things: the capacity to work and the capacity to love. Evil Plans is about being able to do both at the same time. The sometimes unfortunate side effect is that others will hate you for it. MacLeod's insights are brash, wise, and often funny.
Author: Susan Neiman Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691168504 Category : Ethics & Moral Philosophy; Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 408
Book Description
Whether expressed in theological or secular terms, evil poses a problem about the world's intelligibility. It confronts philosophy with fundamental questions: Can there be meaning in a world where innocents suffer? Can belief in divine power or human progress survive a cataloging of evil? Is evil profound or banal? Neiman argues that these questions impelled modern philosophy. Traditional philosophers from Leibniz to Hegel sought to defend the Creator of a world containing evil. Inevitably, their efforts--combined with those of more literary figures like Pope, Voltaire, and the Marquis de Sade--eroded belief in God's benevolence, power, and relevance, until Nietzsche claimed He had been murdered. They also yielded the distinction between natural and moral evil that we now take for granted. Neiman turns to consider philosophy's response to the Holocaust as a final moral evil, concluding that two basic stances run through modern thought. One, from Rousseau to Arendt, insists that morality demands we make evil intelligible. The other, from Voltaire to Adorno, insists that morality demands that we don't.
Author: C. Fred Alford
Author: C. Fred Alford
Author: Lance Morrow
Author: Julia Shaw
Author: James Sias
Author: Jeffrey M. Davis
Author: Claudia Card
Author: Johanna Michaelsen
Author: Chris Nodder
Author: Hugh MacLeod
Author: Susan Neiman