Moral Evil by Andrew Michael Flescher

Moral Evil by Andrew Michael Flescher

Moral evil--evil caused by human beings--seems to be part of the human condition. But why? Does evil really exist, and if so, what exactly is it? Ethicist Andrew Flescher illuminates this dark mystery by proposing four interpretations of evil, drawing on philosophical and theological sources. The first model is evil as the presence of badness, a traditional dualistic model represented by Manicheanism; the second model is evil leading to goodness through suffering, a theological interpretation known as theodicy; the third model is evil is the absence of badness, that is, evil as a social construction; and the forth model is evil as the absence of goodness, in which evil exists in lieu of the good--the privation thesis staked out nearly two millennia ago by Christian theologian St. Augustine. In the final chapter of the book Flescher connects the description of evil as privation endorsed by St. Augustine to an Aristotelian theory of virtue that sees altruistic habit formation as the crux of the well-lived moral life. It is this account, Flescher claims, that the most plausible and most hopeful approach to the reality of moral evil.

While fully recognizing the sometimes horrifying nature of human existence, it is a book of measured hopeChico Enterprise-Record Delivers a compelling set of plausible theories of why bad things happen to good people. This research makes a considerable contribution to studies in Philosophy, Sociology, and Religion. -- Diana Fordham Association for Mormon Letters A probing study of moral evil (and natural evil, too, such as a devastating tsunami) is brilliantly clear and mostly jargon free, well worth pondering. -- Dan Barnett Chico Enterprise-Record

Andrew Michael Flescher is a member of the Core Faculty, Program in Public Health,associate professor of Preventive Medicine, and associate professor of English at Stony Brook University. He is the author of Heroes, Saints, and Ordinary Morality.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781626160101
ISBN 10	1626160104
Title	Moral Evil
Author	Andrew Michael Flescher
Series	Moral Traditions Series
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Georgetown University Press
Year published	2013-10-24
Number of pages	224
Prizes	Winner of PROSE Award in Theology and Religious Studies 6 (United States), Winner of PROSE Award in Theology and Religious Studies., Short-listed for Catholic Press Association Book Award for Theology., Short-listed for Catholic Press Association Book Award for Theology., Short-listed for CPA Book Award for Theology 6 (United States), Short-listed for Catholic Press Association Book Award for Theology 6 (United States)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.