The myth of evil : demonizing the enemy
Record details
- ISBN: 0275992160
- ISBN: 9780275992163
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Physical Description:
print
viii, 256 pages ; 25 cm - Publisher: Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2006.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-250) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Terrorism, torture, and the problems of evil -- Diabolical evil, searching for Satan -- Philosophies of evil -- Communities of fear -- The enemy within -- Bad seeds -- The character of evil -- Facing the Holocaust -- Twenty-first-century mythologies. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Good and evil Psychology |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Kirtland Community College.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kirtland Community College Library | BJ 1401 .C65 2006 | 30775305500630 | General Collection | Available | - |
Electronic resources
CHOICE_Magazine Review
The Myth of Evil : Demonizing the Enemy
CHOICE
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Cole (Middlesex Univ.) has written the best book on evil to date; it deserves a place on the shelves of both academic and public libraries. The author considers the literature on evil from mythology to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including recent philosophical works by S. Neiman (Evil in Modern Thought, 2002) and J. Kekes (Facing Evil, 1990), and old standbys such as H. Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem (1964). Three major arguments emerge from this extensive review, all of them cogent. One is that the concept of evil is not only a meaningless concept that adds nothing to an understanding of human behavior, but also a dangerous one because it obscures possible understanding of events. The second is that the notion of evil is a mythological concept, not a religious or philosophical one. Evil is part of the story that humans tell to make sense of their (as opposed to others') world view. The third is that stories of evil arise from fear of the unknown that humans feel is threatening them. This unknown can be metaphysical or political. Cole ends with a chapter on contemporary politics and the "evil of terrorism," an expression he would strike from the language. ^BSumming Up: Essential. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. S. C. Schwarze Cabrini College