The Nature Of Evil

Despite the overuse of the word in movies, political speeches, and news reports, "evil" is generally seen as either flagrant rhetoric or else an outdated concept: a medieval holdover with no bearing on our complex everyday reality. In "A Philosophy of Evil," however, acclaimed philosopher Lars Svendsen argues that evil remains a concrete moral problem: that we're all its victims, and all guilty of committing evil acts. "It's normal to be evil," he writes--the problem is, we have lost the vocabulary to talk about it. Taking up this problem--how do we speak about evil?--"A Philosophy of Evil" treats evil as an ordinary aspect of contemporary life, with implications that are moral, practical, and above all, political. Because, as Svendsen says, "Evil should neither be justified nor explained away--evil must be fought."

When human beings do horrifying things, are they evil? By exploring such popular literature as The Talented Mr. Ripley , Dante's Inferno , The Turn of the Screw , and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , Koehn illustrates that the roots of human violence are not true evil but a symptom of our failure to really know who we are. It is this lack of understanding of ourselves that can lead humans to perform horrifying deeds, rather than 'evil' itself. This is a deep look into human nature, its beauty and its failings. The Nature of Evil offers an insightful and engaging exploration at a time when we are all struggling to understand the roots of violence and suffering.

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Is Nature Ever Evil?, considers the different ways in which reality is understood between the disciplines of ethics, religion and science focusing on the ethical evaluation of nature itself.

At a time when violence threatens to become epidemic and genocide takes the place of diplomacy in many regions of the world, it is no longer enough to simply dismiss such dark behavior as "human nature." People need to know why such atrocities and horrors take place, and the usual moral, religious, political and philosophical explanations have proved inadequate. With Dark Nature, world naturalist Lyall Watson presents a scientific examination of evil. Drawing on the latest insights of genetics, evolutionary ethology, anthropology and psychology, he takes the discussion of evil out of the realm of monsters and demons to reveal it for what it truly is: A biological reality that may be terrifying but can be controlled. Groundbreaking, fascinating and eminently readable, Dark Nature is a vital and timely antidote to modern despair.

We constantly see the ''senseless violence'' in our world, and it begs the question: ''How can an all-loving God allow this to exist?'' Indeed, many people simply reject any notion of God for this very reason. This book, the third in Sylvia Browne's Journey of the Soul series, gives you the philosophical framework to understand the nature of good and evil - and the role of God in the big picture. When you see how evil originated and why it thrives in our world, you're more prepared to face it and overcome it. Sylvia points out that you need not fear ''evil spirits'' or ''curses'' - which are merely stories bred from ignorance. And how would you like to serve as one of God's warriors of Light? Sylvia explains how to enlist! By combining her philosophical and theological views, Sylvia creates a spiritual umbrella that rises above traditional religion. All paths that lead to knowing God have merit.

FROM NARCISSISM TO AGGRESSION, AN ORIGINAL LOOK AT THE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND BEHAVIORS THAT CONSTITUTE EVIL In this groundbreaking book, renowned psychiatrist Michael H. Stone explores the concept and reality of evil from a new perspective. In an in-depth discussion of the personality traits and behaviors that constitute evil across a wide spectrum, Dr. Stone takes a clarifying scientific approach to a topic that for centuries has been inadequately explained by religious doctrines. Stone has created a 22-level hierarchy of evil behavior, which loosely reflects the structure of Dante's Inferno. Basing his analysis on the detailed biographies of more than 600 violent criminals, he traces two salient personality traits that run the gamut from those who commit crimes of passion to perpetrators of sadistic torture and murder. One trait is narcissism, as exhibited in people who are so self-centered that they have little or no ability to care about their victims. The other is aggression, the use of power over another person to inflict humiliation, suffering, and death. What do psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience tell us about the minds of those whose actions could be described as evil? And what will that mean for the rest of us? Stone discusses how an increased understanding of the causes of evil will affect the justice system. He predicts a day when certain persons can safely be declared salvageable and restored to society and when early signs of violence in children may be corrected before potentially dangerous patterns become entrenched.