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Palgrave Macmillan

The Nature of Evil

  • Book
  • © 2005

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Authors:
  1. Daryl Koehn
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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 1-13

  3. Evil as Vice

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 15-34

  4. Evil as Losing the Ability to Act

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 35-62

  5. Evil as Flight from Narcissistic Boredom

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 63-85

  6. Evil as Hypocritical Repression

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 87-116

  7. Evil as Imagined Portent

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 117-149

  8. Evil as the Loss of Our Humanity

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 151-186

  9. Evil as Satanizing Self, Others, and God

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 187-206

  10. Evil as Fanatical Impiety

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 207-234

  11. Final Thoughts

    • Daryl Koehn
    Pages 235-279

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 281-310
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Keywords

About this book

When human beings do horrifying things, are they evil? By exploring such popular literature as The Talented Mr. Ripley , Dante's Inferno , The Turn of the Screw , and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , Koehn illustrates that the roots of human violence are not true evil but a symptom of our failure to really know who we are. It is this lack of understanding of ourselves that can lead humans to perform horrifying deeds, rather than 'evil' itself. This is a deep look into human nature, its beauty and its failings. The Nature of Evil offers an insightful and engaging exploration at a time when we are all struggling to understand the roots of violence and suffering.

Reviews

'Evil is a palpable destructive force in our lives. With precision and energy Daryl Koehn unpacks this phenomenon and offers us a shockingly straightforward thesis. Evil, all human suffering, is caused by our narcissistic preoccupation with self and our failure to understand who we are and what we want and need. Koehn claims that we are both the source and victim of our own suffering. This is a must read for every student of the human condition.' - Al Gini, Associate Editor, Business Ethics Quarterly, and author of The Importance of Being Lazy

'Koehn's discussion of literary paradigms is fresh, interesting and beautifully expressed, making one wish all literary criticism were as good as this.' - A. L-S, The Heythrop Journal

About the author

DARYL KOEHN is professor of Business Ethics, University of St. Thomas, Texas, USA. She is Executive Director at the Center for Business Ethics and was the 2002-2003 President of the Society for Business Ethics. She is the Author/Editor of several books including Rethinking Feminist Ethics.

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