The Problem of Evil
The Il/logical Problem
In traditional philosophy, The Problem of Evil has a strong religious basis, mostly because so many of the canonical Philosophers lived in very religious societies and most definitely believed in God/s. It tries to answer the seemingly illogical question: Why did a Good God/dess create "Evil" ? This question is very focused on logic because a good and powerful God/dess who allows "Suffering" seems like a paradox. For instance why would a Good God/dess allows a situation like what is currently happening with ISIS in the Middle East? Important philosophers include:
The Construction of "Evil"
Can "evil" exist outside a dualist construction of reality? In other words: is it this black and white or really shades of grey? You'd need to look into how and why dualist philosophers divided up the world and assess whether this is a valid way to view existence in a postmodern age. Maybe comparing it to existentialism or some other alternative way of viewing the world.
Is the "problem of evil" still relevant in a secular society? Look at modern interpretations of Evil eg Hannah Arendt (evil is mundane and in all of us) or marxism (evil is caused by inequality in the class system)
In the C20th, the atrocities committed in WWII (esp. the holocaust) had an enormous impact definitions of "Evil". Nazism could not simply be explained away as an ideology because it caused people to behave in incredibly inhumane ways, often with the excuse that they were simply "following orders". Hannah Arendt's challenge to Adolf Eichmann (a Nazi leader tried in Israel) explains the origin of the phrase "banality of Evil" which Arendt coined to represent a morality which is no longer attached to intention, a kind of unthinking detachment to one's actions. You can read her originial articles at The New Yorker [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1963/02/16/eichmann-in-jerusalem-i]. Despite being Jewish, she was equally critical of the Israeli trial process and her work caused an enormous public outcry in the Jewish community. The Banality of Evil: the demise of a legend reviews a book that reflects these issues.
The willingness of ordinary citizens to simply follow orders was tested in the Milgram experiments, where over 60% participants (in their role as "Teachers"!) administered life-threatening electric shocks to "students" under orders from their supervisor. This is viewed by psychologists as a pivotal experiemnt in social conditioning.
Susan Neiman's Evil: An alternative in modern thought [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=28ts5lckpOwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false] examines whether or not contemporary morality (as a trajectory from traditional philosophers) obliges us to define and understand "Evil". A very short review/overview with interesting questions can be found here http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10601.html].
Relativism and "Evil"
How do philosophy and psychology overlap around the causes of Evil? Again, you'd want to look at modern interpretations of Evil. Maybe someone like Mary Midgely:
http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/wickedness.htm
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=VQLrukqi59gC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Less...
Jon Catlin's Who needs Evil? [http://midwayreview.uchicago.edu/a/9/1/catlin/catlin.pdf] is a review of Dawe's book, Evil Men, which examines the behaviour of Japanese officials who committed terrible acts of torture.
Does a mental condition (eg. "psychopath") explain or even justify one's actions? this might also overlap with concepts of identity and free will.
In Torture, evil and moral development [https://www3.nd.edu/~dnarvaez/documents/NarvaezTortureEvil2015.pdf], Darcia Navaez uses the example of institutionalised torture by Us officials after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to argue that evil is not a natural part of humanity but the result of a misconceptions about living in a dangerous world.
How might media coverage, instant access and the ubiquity of visuals have changed our reaction to evil? Have we become desensitised to incidents of evil?
The Il/logical Problem
In traditional philosophy, The Problem of Evil has a strong religious basis, mostly because so many of the canonical Philosophers lived in very religious societies and most definitely believed in God/s. It tries to answer the seemingly illogical question: Why did a Good God/dess create "Evil" ? This question is very focused on logic because a good and powerful God/dess who allows "Suffering" seems like a paradox. For instance why would a Good God/dess allows a situation like what is currently happening with ISIS in the Middle East? Important philosophers include:
- Aristotle (ancient Greek)
- Aquinas (medieval Europe)
- Kant (C18th European)
- Philosophy: The Basics (Warburton, Nigel. (2013) Routledge, London) NF 100 WAR
- Teach yourself Philosophy of Religion (Ms Carmyn has a copy)
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Logical Problem of Evil [http://www.iep.utm.edu/evil-log/]
The Construction of "Evil"
Can "evil" exist outside a dualist construction of reality? In other words: is it this black and white or really shades of grey? You'd need to look into how and why dualist philosophers divided up the world and assess whether this is a valid way to view existence in a postmodern age. Maybe comparing it to existentialism or some other alternative way of viewing the world.
Is the "problem of evil" still relevant in a secular society? Look at modern interpretations of Evil eg Hannah Arendt (evil is mundane and in all of us) or marxism (evil is caused by inequality in the class system)
- What do we mean by Evil [http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/what-do-we-mean-by-evil] is a brilliant introduction to some of the current thinking on this topic.
In the C20th, the atrocities committed in WWII (esp. the holocaust) had an enormous impact definitions of "Evil". Nazism could not simply be explained away as an ideology because it caused people to behave in incredibly inhumane ways, often with the excuse that they were simply "following orders". Hannah Arendt's challenge to Adolf Eichmann (a Nazi leader tried in Israel) explains the origin of the phrase "banality of Evil" which Arendt coined to represent a morality which is no longer attached to intention, a kind of unthinking detachment to one's actions. You can read her originial articles at The New Yorker [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1963/02/16/eichmann-in-jerusalem-i]. Despite being Jewish, she was equally critical of the Israeli trial process and her work caused an enormous public outcry in the Jewish community. The Banality of Evil: the demise of a legend reviews a book that reflects these issues.
The willingness of ordinary citizens to simply follow orders was tested in the Milgram experiments, where over 60% participants (in their role as "Teachers"!) administered life-threatening electric shocks to "students" under orders from their supervisor. This is viewed by psychologists as a pivotal experiemnt in social conditioning.
- The Milgram Experiment [http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html]
- The Shocking Truth of the Milgram Experiments [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2013/10/02/the-shocking-truth-of-the-notorious-milgram-obedience-experiments/#.V6qq6XF9670] and Rethinking one of Psychology's most infamous experiments [http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/rethinking-one-of-psychologys-most-infamous-experiments/384913/] critique his methodology
Susan Neiman's Evil: An alternative in modern thought [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=28ts5lckpOwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false] examines whether or not contemporary morality (as a trajectory from traditional philosophers) obliges us to define and understand "Evil". A very short review/overview with interesting questions can be found here http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10601.html].
Relativism and "Evil"
How do philosophy and psychology overlap around the causes of Evil? Again, you'd want to look at modern interpretations of Evil. Maybe someone like Mary Midgely:
http://www.the-philosopher.co.uk/reviews/wickedness.htm
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=VQLrukqi59gC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Less...
Jon Catlin's Who needs Evil? [http://midwayreview.uchicago.edu/a/9/1/catlin/catlin.pdf] is a review of Dawe's book, Evil Men, which examines the behaviour of Japanese officials who committed terrible acts of torture.
Does a mental condition (eg. "psychopath") explain or even justify one's actions? this might also overlap with concepts of identity and free will.
In Torture, evil and moral development [https://www3.nd.edu/~dnarvaez/documents/NarvaezTortureEvil2015.pdf], Darcia Navaez uses the example of institutionalised torture by Us officials after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to argue that evil is not a natural part of humanity but the result of a misconceptions about living in a dangerous world.
How might media coverage, instant access and the ubiquity of visuals have changed our reaction to evil? Have we become desensitised to incidents of evil?