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The Positive Function of Evil

  • Book
  • © 2009

Overview

Editors:
  1. Pedro Alexis Tabensky

    1. Department of Philosophy, Rhodes University, South Africa

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
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  2. Love and the Problem of Evil

    • Robert Merrihew Adams
    Pages 1-13

  3. Wrong that is Right? The Paradox of the ‘Felix Culpa’

    • Geoffrey Scarre
    Pages 14-27

  4. Love and Emotional Reactions to Necessary Evils

    • Thaddeus Metz
    Pages 28-44

  5. Shadows of Goodness

    • Pedro Alexis Tabensky
    Pages 45-65

  6. “Moral Beauty Happens”

    • Richard H. Bell
    Pages 66-80

  7. Murdochian Evil and Striving to be Good

    • Heather Widdows
    Pages 81-97

  8. Tragedy and Reparation

    • Elisa Galgut
    Pages 98-111

  9. The Psychology of Evil: A Contribution from Psychoanalysis

    • Michael Lacewing
    Pages 112-126

  10. Good Citizens and Moral Heroes

    • Adam Morton
    Pages 127-138

  11. The Moral Significance of Evil

    • John Kekes
    Pages 139-154

  12. The Virtues of the Useless: On Goodness, Evil and Beauty

    • Samantha Vice
    Pages 155-171

  13. Back Matter

    Pages 172-185
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Keywords

About this book

This collection explores the controversial and perhaps even abject idea that evils, large and small, human and natural, may have a central positive function to play in our lives. For centuries a concern of religious thinkers from the Christian tradition, very little systematic work has been done to explore this idea from the secular point of view.

Reviews

"An unusual and stimulating collection. The presence of evil in our world, so often discussed from a religious viewpoint, is here tackled from a largely secular perspective. The papers open up a fascinating array of ethical and psychological questions about the human moral predicament."

- John Cottingham

"It is perhaps no surprise that the country which gave the world the Truth and Reconciliation Commission should also play host to creative and unorthodox work in moral philosophy. Welcome evidence of the fact comes in the shape of this stimulating volume of essays, which explore various aspects of the question whether human life is made better by the presence in it of evil."

- Edward Harcourt, University of Oxford, UK

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Philosophy, Rhodes University, South Africa

    Pedro Alexis Tabensky

About the editor

ROBERT MERRIHEW ADAMS is a Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, Mansfield College, Oxford, and Visiting Professor of Philosophy in the University of Oxford, UK RICHARD H. BELL is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, The College of Wooster, Ohio, USA ELISA GALGUT teaches in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cape Town, South Africa JOHN KEKES is retired Professor of Philosophy now works as an independent author. MICHAEL LACEWING is Director of Research and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Heythrop College, London, UK THADDEUS METZ is Professor of Philosophy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa ADAM MORTON holds a Canada Research Chair in Epistemology and Decision Theory at the University of Alberta, Canada GEOFFREY SCARRE is Professor of Philosophy, Durham University, UK SAMANTHA VICE is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Rhodes University, South Africa HEATHER WIDDOWS is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham, UK

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