Evil: A challenge to philosophy and theology [Paperback]

Where does evil come from? How is it that we do evil? This book falls into three parts. The fi rst part deals with the magnitude and complexity of the problem of evil from a phenomenological perspective. The second part investigates the levels of speculation on the origin and nature of evil. The third discusses thinking, acting and feeling in connection with evil. The discussion runs in the classic intellectual tradition from Augustine, through Hegel, Leibnitz, Kant, and Nietzsche. But the voice is always that of Paul Ricoeur himself, though he also refers to modern writers like Harold Kushner(When Bad Things Happen to Good People)and John K. Roth (Encountering Evil). Ricoeur considers here man's vulnerability to evil with depth and matchless sensitivity.

Evil: A History in Modern French Literature and Thoughtoffers a rich study of French thought on evil in its development over almost two centuries. Catani succeeds in the ambitious task of placing in dialogue with one another upwards of forty key thinkers in order to establish a series of significant shifts in understanding evil that will greatly benefit scholars of intellectual history. Scott M. Powers, University of Mary Washington,H-France Review

Extended Introduction by Graham Ward
Preface by Pierre Gisel

1. The experience of evil
2. The levels of discussion and discourse on evil
3. Thinking, acting, feeling