The Double Binds of Ethics after the Holocaust Salvaging the Fragments

by Geddes, Jennifer L.; Roth, John K.; Simon, Jules

• ISBN13: 9780230614925
• ISBN10: 0230614922
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-03-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The Double Binds of Ethics after the Holocaustsheds new light on the ethical repercussions of the Nazi genocide against the Jews. Contributors focus on two key dilemmas: first, that the Holocaust did immense harm to ethics by undermining confidence in beliefs about the fundamental status of ethical values, including human rights. Second, the Holocaust and subsequent genocides have destroyed confidence that human beings will fulfill their moral obligations better "next time." Responding to these double binds, the contributors to this book explore what can be done in ethical theory and practice to respond effectively to the impact of the Holocaust and genocide. Its chapters not only assess the weakness of ethics in standing firmly and effectively against human-made destruction but also indicate steps of salvage and retrieval that need to be taken if ethics is to be a significant presence in a world still besieged by genocide and atrocity.

Author Biography

Jennifer L. Geddes is Research Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. 

John K. Roth is the Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College. 

Jules Simon is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso and the Scientific Director of the Center for Science, Technology, Ethics and Policy (CSTEP).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Engaging the Double Binds	p. 1
Introduction to Section 1	p. 3
Double Binds: Ethics after Auschwitz	p. 5
Morality after Auschwitz? Haas, Nietzsche, and the Possibilities for Revaluation	p. 25
Cutting the Roots of the Holocaust: Resisting the Enlightenment's Universalizing Impulse	p. 43
The Tikkun of Philosophy and the Idea of Humanity	p. 55
Surveying the Fragments	p. 67
Introduction to Section 2	p. 69
Survival of the Closest: Gender and Agency in Holocaust Resistance	p. 71
The Role of Moral Examples in Teaching Ethics after the Holocaust: Reconsidering the Rescue of the Danish Jews	p. 89
Dignity and Despair: The Double Bind of Jean Améry's Odyssey	p. 101
Salvaging the Ethical	p. 115
Introduction to Section 3	p. 117
Banal Evil and Useless Knowledge: Hannah Arendt and Charlotte Delbo on Evil after the Holocaust	p. 119
Making Ethical Sense of Useless Suffering with Levinas	p. 133
Reconstituting Political Philosophy after the Holocaust: Toward the Prevention of Genocide	p. 155
Notes on the Contributors	p. 173
Index	p. 177
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