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  • Book
  • © 2016

The Meaning of Evil

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  1. James Sias

    1. Dickinson College , Carlisle, USA

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  • Presents an in-depth, innovative of treatment of the relevant philosophical theories and associated empirical issues/examples

  • Will hold value for scholars of both philosophy and moral psychology

  • Offers a highly interdisciplinary approach, incorporating psychology and history into its investigation

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
    PDF

  2. An Introduction to Evil

    • James Sias
    Pages 1-19

  3. The Psychology of Evil: Some Case Studies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21
      PDF

    4. Money, Greed, and Commodification

      • James Sias
      Pages 85-113

  4. The Philosophy of Evil: Puzzles, Problems, and Theories

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115
      PDF

    2. Three Puzzles about Evil

      • James Sias
      Pages 117-156

    3. Theories of Evil Personhood

      • James Sias
      Pages 157-186

    4. A New Theory of Evil

      • James Sias
      Pages 187-226

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 227-230
    PDF
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About this book

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.
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Keywords

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Authors and Affiliations

  • Dickinson College , Carlisle, USA

    James Sias

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About the author

James Sias is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Dickinson College, USA. His research focuses primarily upon issues in ethics and moral psychology. 
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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Meaning of Evil

  • Authors: James Sias

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56822-9

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-95401-8Published: 21 April 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-56822-9Published: 07 September 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 230

  • Topics: Moral Philosophy, Social Philosophy, Ethics

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Buy it now

eBook USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 37.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

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