Philosophy of Evil (Norwegian Literature)

The problem of "evil," and indeed the problem over whether or not the word is even useful in the post-industrial era, is one philosophers avoid. It is a word with an intimidating array of cultural baggage, too much to tackle. And this is not even to mention the fact that "evil" is, at least in part, a religious-folkloric construct, leading many to ask whether or not it is even the proper subject of philosophical inquiry at all. Svendson freely acknowledges all of this, but makes a case that to lose the word would be harmful, that what is needed is a new discussion about what "evil" is and means.But, to his immense credit, this book is not just, "Here is what I think." Svendson, in a very readable and patient style, takes the reader through an extended primer of the major strands of thought on the subject, from Augustine to Ricouer to Arendt, before coming to his own conclusions, the best of which being that when it comes to evil, "We have met the enemy and he is us." And his self-confessed modesty in the teeth of such an unpleasant, vast and dark subject is both refreshing and candid. This is a book anyone can grasp, rather like an exceptionally good lecture that holds attention well. It speaks to the individual, mercifully avoiding the pitfalls of sweeping generalization and mawkish sermon.For someone interested in beginning to explore philosophy, especially moral philosophy, this engaging book would be a superb place to start.Highly recommended!

The author sheds some light on the definition of evil and comes up with suggestions on how to deal with it. According to Svedsen, humane is the root of evil. Every of us is both good and evil. Though the portion of good and evil are varied for different individuals. Only when we come to accept that we're all capable of committing evil acts, that evil is not an external theology, do we stand a chance against it.Truly, I found his theories fascinating and thought-provoking although I'm not an avid reader of philosophy works. I won't pretend that I can comprehend everything he says or cites. But for the most part, his explanation is logical and easy to follow. I was engrossed in the subject in no time. Moreover, Svendsen provides a lot of interesting sociological materials as well as staggering facts and figures about genocides and war crimes that we shouldn't be dimissive of; evil exists within us. However, the point of the book is not to make us feel digust or afraid of ourselves, but rather to adress evil as a concrete and practical problem in daily life so that we can see it for what it is and learn to fight it. As Emmerson said, justice is a duty, not a given.

Yes the problem of "evil" is one of perhaps central importance in understanding history and in forming an effective picture of something like "human nature" or a system of moral semantics, and in this sense deep capable thinkers with an informed interest in psychology have some obligation to dedicate their efforts to the question. Lars Svendsen is certainly not in a position to do so.Lars clearly lacks depth of comprehension when it comes to applying (or criticizing, though I cringe to find myself using any conjugation of the term 'critique' in connection with this piece of scribble) even the most common understanding of the work of standard thinkers (Nietzsche, Kant, Hegel etc). His position on yet another tired theme, the Nazi Holocaust (his central unflinching example of 'evil') is just the standard repetition of the standard positions, an unforgivable tactic he uses to retain the reader's attention and sentiment. His discussion of the 'thoughtlessness' of perpetrators there (Eichmann, Hoss and Stangl) for example provides yet another psychologically uninformed account of evil doers based on the usual position that harming innocents is wrong etc etc. With a title like "A Philosophy of Evil" one would expect a bit more than a simple rehashing of the standard colloquial position on these complex case studies. I shutter to predict the contents of his other texts bearing similarly marketable titles...Secondly the text lacks not only depth but unification and theme even on a very basic compositional level. If I had known that I'd be working so hard to swallow what is more like a child's degenerate sourcebook on 'bad things bad people did' I certainly would have opted out of dedicating the necessary time and boredom to the text. This isn't serious philosophical work and shouldn't be labeled a philosophy of anything. Is this representative of what passes for decent work at the University of Bergen these days? Quite sad indeed.I suppose I might recommend it to my less thoughtful and informed acquaintances (certainly not my friends nor my colleagues), but in general would be embarrassed to admit familiarity with the work of Lars Svendsen. If you're looking for philosophy look elsewhere.

Lars Svendsen is to be praised for sticking to a logical and deeply analytical book which looks at what humans experience as evil. We do not want to force people to have sex with their fathers on pain of death or to murder millions and bayonet children for fun but some people on the planet have done these things and these crimes against humanity's moral and ethical hopes have to be tackled in an unemotional way.He explains what evil is and why we use the word - separating it from religious sentiment, legend, fantasy and bigotry. If you want to know what evil is - start here and not in the Bible or the speeches of Ronald Regan.If you have a human heart - and most of us thankfully do - then you will shed a tear when you think how low we have sunk as a species.There are many horrific examples in this book - such as a person in USA called Kitty who was beaten to death during an hour-long onslaught while 40 witnesses to the fact did nothing. The rapes, the tortures, the systematic genocide - a catalogue of inhumanity by humans.Now scientists are telling us we have no free will - poor us.Exercise your free will - prove the scientists wrong - buy the book and read it even though you have to bite your lip at almost every page.

Intresting, compelling and makes you think. Well-phrased and knowledegable, yet an easy read. Would hugely recommend.