Being Evil: A Philosophical Perspective

We regularly encounter appalling wrongdoing, with the media offering a depressing parade of violent assault, rape, and murder. Yet sometimes even the cynical and world-weary amongst us are taken aback. Sometimes we confront a crime so terrible, so horrendous, so deeply wrong, that we reach for the word 'evil'. The 9/11 terrorist attacks were not merely wrong, but evil. A serial killer who tortures their victims is not merely a bad person. They are evil. And as the Holocaust showed us, we must remain vigilant against the threat of evil. But what exactly is it? If we use the word 'evil', are we buying into a naive Manichean worldview, in which two cosmic forces of good and evil are pitted against one another? Are we guilty of demonizing our enemies? How does 'evil' go beyond what is merely bad or wrong?

This book explores the answers that philosophers have offered to these questions. Luke Russell discusses why some philosophers think that evil is a myth or a fantasy, while others think that evil is real, and is a concept that plays an important role in contemporary secular morality. Along the way he asks whether evil is always horrific and incomprehensible, or if it can be banal. Considering if there is a special psychological hallmark that sets the evildoers apart from the rest of us, Russell also engages with ongoing discussions over psychopathy and empathy, analysing the psychology behind evildoing.


Author: Luke Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/01/2020
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 6.80h x 4.90w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780198862079


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 08/31/2020
Choice 09/01/2021

About the Author

Luke Russell is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sydney, where he teaches ethics and critical thinking. He has written on various topics in the field of moral philosophy, including evil, forgiveness, virtue, and vice, and is the author of Evil: A Philosophical Investigation (OUP, 2014).