Dimensions of Evil

by Cooper, Terry D.

• ISBN13: 9780800662172
• ISBN10: 0800662172
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-08-01
• Publisher: Fortress Pr

Summary

From natural catastrophes to horrific human violence to death- dealing social systems, evil calls out ever more dramatically for explanation and understanding. Yet despite millennia of reflection, no consensus has developed on the character and dynamics of evil. This masterful survey volume composes a framework that separates out for analysis the many dimensions and aspects of the question of evil and then interrogates the best philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and social scientists of the last one hundred years on the question. Cooper's interdisciplinary focus captures insights from theology, philosophy, and psychology and overcomes the ghettoization of the question. His clear distinction of evil in natural, personal, and social realms allows readers to sort through the many layers and mechanisms of evil and the helpful perspectives that illuminate our world today.

Author Biography

Terry D. Cooper is Professor of Psychology at St. Louis Community College - Meramec.

Table of Contents

Evil and evolution : Darwin and the brutalities of nature	p. 16
Evil, ethics, and evolutionary psychology	p. 58
Evil and the psychoanalytic tradition	p. 100
Human potential and human destructiveness : the psychology of hate	p. 138
Ordinary people and malevolent circumstances : the social context of evil	p. 182
Individual and sytemic evil : should one be privileged over the other?	p. 212
Concluding thoughts	p. 250
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