Abstract
After a long period of neglect and complacency, the problem of evil has powerfully resurfaced in our time. Two events above all have triggered this resurgence: the atrocities of totalitarianism (summarized under the label of “Auschwitz”) and the debacle of September 11 and its aftermath. Following September 11, a “war on terror” has been unleashed and some writers have advocated an all-out assault on, and military victory over, evil. Taking issue with this proposal, the paper first of all examines themeaning of “evil” as articulated by philosophers and theologians through the centuries. Next, the focus is shifted to a particularly trenchant and innovative formulation which recognizes both the reality of evil and the importance of human freedom: Schelling’s famous treatise of 1809. Following, a review of several important readings of this text (from Heidegger to Richard Bernstein), the paper concludes by pleading in favor of moral pedagogy as an alternative to the agenda of military victory.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Arabi, I. (1976). “Whoso Knoweth Himself...,” trans. T. H. Weir. Gloucestershire, UK: Beshara Press, pp. 4–5.
Bernstein, R. J. (2002). Radical evil: A philosophical interrogation. (p. 1). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Dallmayr, F. (2004). A global spiritual resurgence? Some Christian and Islamic legacies. In Peace talks-Who will listen? Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, pp. 80–82.
Delbanco, A. (1995). The death of Satan: How Americans lost the sense of evil. New York: Farrar
Deussen, P. (1906). Outline of the Vedanta system of philosophy according to Shankara, trans. J. H. Woods and C. B. Runkel. New York: Grafton Press.
Frum D., & Perle, R. (2003). An end to evil: How to win the war on terror. New York: Random House, p. 9.
Heidegger, M. (1985). Schelling’s treatise on the essence of human freedom, trans. Stambaugh. Athens: Ohio University Press, p. 4.
Hillesum, E. (1989). An interrupted life: The diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941–43. New York: Pantheon Books.
Jaspers, K. (1955). Schelling: Grösse and Verhängnis. Munich: Piper.
Jonas, H. (1934–1935). Gnosis and spätantiker Geist, 2 vols. Göttingen: Vanderhoek & Ruprecht.
Jonas, H. (1963). The gnostic religion. Boston: Beacon Press.
Jonas, H. (1996). The concept of God after Auschwitz: A Jewish voice. In Vogel, L. (Ed.), Mortality and morality: A search for God after Auschwitz. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, pp. 137, 140.
Kant, I. (1960). Religion within the limits of reason alone, trans. T. M. Greene and H. H. Hudson. New York: Harper Torchbooks, pp. 27, 33, 46, 56.
Lawrence, J. P. (2005). Philosophical Religion and quest for authenticity. In Wirth (Ed.), Schelling now.
Luther, M. (1961). Selections from his writings. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
McDowell, J. (1994). Mind and World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 77.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1995). La Nature: Notes de Cours du Collège de France, Séglard, D. (Ed.). 1956–1960; Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Morrow, L. (2003). Evil: An investigation. New York: Basic Books, p. 16.
Nancy, J. L. (1998). The experience of freedom. trans. B. McDonald Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Neiman, S. (2004). Evil in modern thought: An alternative history of philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 11.
Organ, T. W. (1980). The Hindu quest for the perfection of man. Athens, OH: Ohio University, pp. 181–193.
Pagels, E. (1979). The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House.
Pagels, E. (1995). The origin of Satan. New York: Random House.
Pryor B. S. (2005) Giving way to... freedom: A note after Nancy and Schelling. In Wirth, J. M. (Ed.), Schelling now, p. 231.
Radhakrishnan, S. (1928). Vedanta according to Shankara and Ramanuja. London: Allen and Unwin.
Raghavendracharya, H. N. (1941). The Dvaita philosophy and its place in the Vedanta. Mysore: University of Mysore.
Rorty, A. O. (Ed.) (2001). The many faces of evil: Historical perspectives. London, New York: Routledge, pp. xiv–xv.
Schelling, F.W. J. (1936). Schelling: Of human freedom, trans. James Gutman. Chicago, IL: Open Court, p. 27.
Schulz, W. (1955/1975). Die Vollendung des deutschen Idealismus in der Spätphilosophie Schellings. Pfullingen: Neske.
von Leibniz, G.W. (1985). Theodicy: Essays on the goodness of God, the freedom of man and the origin of evil, trans. E. M. Huggard. La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Warnek, P. (2005). Reading Schelling after Heidegger. In Wirth, J. M. (Ed.), Schelling now. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, pp. 168–19.
Wirth, J. M. (2005). Introduction: Schelling now. In Wirth J. M. (Ed.), Schelling now: Contemporary readings. (p. 9). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Źiźek, S. (1996). The indivisible remainder: An essay on Schelling and related matters. London: Verso.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dallmayr, F. (2006). An end to evil? Philosophical and political reflections. In: Long, E.T. (eds) Self and Other: Essays in Continental Philosophy of Religion. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5861-5_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5861-5_12
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5860-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5861-5
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)