Dimensions of Evil: Contemporary Perspectives

by Terry D. Cooper (Introduction)

From natural catastrophes to horrific human violence to death- dealing social systems, evil calls out ever more dramatically for explanation and understanding. Yet despite millennia of reflection, no consensus has developed on the character and dynamics of evil. This masterful survey volume composes a framework that separates out for analysis the many dimensions and aspects of the question of evil and then interrogates the best philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and social scientists of the last one hundred years on the question. Cooper's interdisciplinary focus captures insights from theology, philosophy, and psychology and overcomes the ghettoization of the question. His clear distinction of evil in natural, personal, and social realms allows readers to sort through the many layers and mechanisms of evil and the helpful perspectives that illuminate our world today.

286 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Wil Roese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more I read about about evil the more convinced I become that evil is the absence of goodness the way darkness is the absence of light, and that is all you can say about evil. You can write books about light, how it is made up of photons and is electromagnetic radiation of a specific frequency but all you can say about darkness is it is the absence of light. Darkness is not a thing but the absence of a thing and you can not describe darkness as a thing the way you can describe light. Cooper like most authors of books on evil does not seem to grasp this concept. He confuses suffering and destruction with evil. While suffering and destruction are often the result of evil they are not the same as evil. In the same way that poor vision and running into things are not the same as darkness. He than explores the cause of suffering and destruction through evolution theory and psychology and while he makes some good points he is never able to pinpoint evil because of his incorrect underlying assumptions about evil being something rather than the absence of something.