The Abuse of Evil
The Corruption of Politics and Religion since 9/11
Themes for the 21st Century Series
1. Edition October 2005
144 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Since 9/11 politicians, preachers, conservatives and the media are all speaking about evil. In the past the dicourse about evil in our religious, philosophic and literary traditions has provoked thinking, questioning and inquiry. But today the appeal to evil is being used as a political tool to obscure compex issues, block serious thinking and stifle public discussion and debate.
We are now confronting a clash of mentalities, not a clash of civilisations. One mentality is drawn to absolutes, moral certainties, and simplistic dichotomies of good and evil. The other seriously questions an appeal to absolutes in politics and criticizes the simplistic division of the world into the forces of evil and the forces of good.
In The Abuse of Evil Bernstein challenges the claim that without an appeal to absolutes, we lack the grounds for acting decisively in fighting our enemies. The post 9/11 abuse of evil corrupts both democratic politics and religion. The stakes are high in this clash of mentalities in shaping how we think and act in the world today - and in the future.
Introduction.
1. The Clash of Mentalities: The Craving for Absolutes versus
Pragmatic Fallibilism.
2. The Anticipations and Legaices of Pragmatic Fallibilism.
3. Moral Certainty and Passionate Commitment.
4. Evil and the Corruption of Democratic Politics.
5. Evil and the Corruption of Religion.
Epilogue: What is to Done?.
Notes.
Works Cited.
Index
relevance."
Nancy Fraser, New School for Social Research
"Building on the conceptual framework advanced in his last
book, Radical Evil, Bernstein argues that what defines the post
9-11 world is an abuse of evil. In the face of the pernicious moral
absolutism of neo-conservatism and the religious right, Bernstein
advances a pragmatic fallibilism that is consistent with both the
fragility and tenacity of democracy. It is the great merit of this
book to show that such a fallibilism is not only continuous with a
religious world-view, but is its enabling condition. If philosophy,
as Hegel insists, is its time comprehended in thought, then
Bernstein gives his readers a philosophical wake-up call to think
about evil in the face of so much unthinking moralism."
Simon Critchley, New School for Social
Research
