Ethics of Evil Psychoanalytic Investigations

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Synopsis

In today's world where every form of transgression enjoys a psychological motive and rational justification, psychoanalysis stands alone in its ability to uncover the hidden motives that inform individual and social collective behaviour. Both in theory and practice, it bears witness to the impact of anonymity on the potential for perpetration, especially when others are experienced as faceless, disposable objects whose otherness is, at bottom, but a projection, displacement, and denial of our own interiority-in short, the evil within. In keeping with this perspective, Ethics of Evil rejects facile rationalizations of violence; it also rejects the idea that evil, as a concept, is inscrutable or animated by demonic forces. Instead, it evaluates the moral framework in which evil is situated, providing a descriptive understanding of it as a plurality and a depth psychological perspective on the threat it poses for our well-being and ways of life. In so doing, it also fashions and articulates an ethical stance that recognizes the intrinsic link between human freedom and the potential for evil.

Book details

Author:
Jon Mills
ISBN:
9780429913341
Related ISBNs:
9780367103910, 9781782203957, 9780429474347
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Pages:
304
Reading age:
Not specified
Includes images:
No
Date of addition:
2023-09-10
Usage restrictions:
Copyright
Copyright date:
2016
Copyright by:
Routledge 
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Categories:
Nonfiction, Psychology