What is evil? We seem to share a recognition of this label for something that we deem morally (and exceptionally) egregious: gruesome episodes of history such as the Nazis or medieval genocidal campaigns come to mind. Yet Hannah Arendt talked about the banality of evil. The problem of evil is a classic philosophical conundrum that bears its weight on religious believers, but we would like to explore evil more generally:
Defining Evil: what does evil actually mean, and is the concept necessary for moral discourse? What would a world without this concept be like?
Cultural construct vs. universality: Is evil a product of time and place, or does it have universal characteristics that transcend context?
Threshold of Evil: is there a distinguishing point beyond which actions are not merely unethical but should be considered evil? What are the necessary conditions for evil to be present?
Consciousness of Evil: Is awareness of wrongdoing necessary for an action to be deemed evil, or is it the outcome that matters? Can a person be inherently evil, or are there only evil acts?
Complicity: is willful ignorance of evil in itself a kind of evil?
Join us for a discussion to understand the problem(s) of evil in our day and age.
