Good & Evil Books - Page 5

The Problem of Evil & the Problem of God

D. Z. Phillips

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Creative and original, here is D. Z. Phillips's most systematic attempt to address the problem of evil. He argues that the problem is inextricably linked to our conception of God and that the concept of God in recent philosophy of religion is problematic, even harmful. That intellectual inheritance, he claims, attempts to distinguish between logical and existential problems of evil and offers us distorted accounts of God's omnipotence and will. As a result, God is ridiculed out of existence or found unfit before the bar of decency.

Yet Phillips elucidates in a second part a neglected tradition in which we reach a different understanding of God's presence amid suffering and which addresses the ultimate question of how God can be said to be with those who are crushed by life's afflictions.

This new work is an ideal text for students of philosophy, religion, or theology, but it also speaks clearly to anyone who reflects seriously on the danger of adding to human evil by the way in which we write and think about it.

Why Does God Permit Evil

Dom Bruno Webb

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The religious answer to suffering 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Everyone on earth has been touched by the problem of suffering. At times suffering can overwhelm all other issues, wrenching a cry to God from the heart.

Here is a book to answer the problem of suffering from a religious viewpoint.

Eastern religions and ancient philosophies, such as the Stoics, all tended to respond by escape. Endure, ignore, do not care, seek unconsciousness of the mind. "The attitude of pagan philosophy is, then, firstly, that suffering, not sin, is the supreme evil. And, secondly, that the only means of suffering is escape" (p 14).

Judaism and Christianity, however, proclaim am immortal, eternal God who created all things. But does he will all things?

We live in a world darkened by the fall of the first man, where "there is a deep-set disorder in the heart of nature resulting from this action " (p 50). O felix culpa, oh happy fault of Adam, who created that fall--this was the insight of the church fathers. For Christ came down to merit the graces that we, in our fallen state, could not, and open the gates of heaven. And to gain us a chance at such gifts that we would never have attained otherwise.

"In itself suffering is indifferent either to moral good or moral evil" (p117). There were two thieves who suffered crucifixion with Christ. One made use of it; one did not. The secret is in seeking the will of God, whatever happens.

A book to ponder.

The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship: An Examination of Epistemic Autocracy, From the 19th to the 21st Century

Paul Collins

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Social Engineering and Technocratic Elite 5 out of 5 stars.
25 of 28 people found this review helpful.

Many of us are familiar with U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell speech to the nation on January 17, 1961, in which he warned the American public to "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex." A less known quote from the same speech sets the tone for the Collins brothers' incredibly erudite tome: "... we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite."

This book discloses exactly who these technological elite (technocrats) are; that they've been working behind the scenes for centuries, and public policy has indeed become its captive. Its aspiration has always been the implementation of a sociopolitical, technocratic utopian world order.

The breadth and scope of Philip and Paul Collins' massive study is nothing short of dazzling. "The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship" is a meticulous examination of a shared ideological construct centuries in the making. This elite circle of technocrats hasn't simply carried forth a unified grand master plan, however; the Collins brothers stress the fact that what we are dealing with is a "conspiracy of ideas," whose adherents have developed into a powerful "epistemological cartel."

Reading "The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship" is to embark on an intellectual journey of the highest order. The Collins brothers effortlessly discuss a wide range of philosophical concepts, all of which are integral to understanding the thinking and development of those behind the formation of a would-be technocracy. There simply isn't any other book that is even in the same league. "The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship" penetrates the core concepts of Gnosticism, Rosicrucian mythos, Baconian utopianism, Freemasonry and the Royal Society of London; from Darwinism to scientism, population control, eugenics and Malthusian propaganda; Jung, Hegel, Wells and Huxley; Fabian socialism, world government, evolutionary pantheism, and the deification of man. The reader is privy to the fact that there is genuine continuity between Illuminism, Jacobinism, Socialism, and Marxism; that the dialectical manipulation of society is symptomatic of "the Hegelian nexus where Darwin, Marx, and Hitler intersect." The Collins brothers are equally at ease with diverse concepts such as Bentham's Panopticon, sociocracy, semiotic manipulation, "sci-fi predictive programming," transhumanism and the techno-eugenic movement - and the implications thereof. Other books that have attempted only a fraction of what is discussed in this book seem haphazard in comparison.

I highly doubt it is even possible to convey the scope of the book in a simple review: with the range of topics discussed, along with judicious quotations from a dizzying array of sources - the breadth of "The Ascendancy of the Scientific Dictatorship" is simply mind-numbing. This book is the definitive statement identifying the significance behind the political concept of a New World Order. "Worth its weight in gold" really does apply in this case - and, of course, as is customary with such scholarly endeavors, the bibliography is worth the price alone.

Editorial Review:

Here is the story of how the criminal elite hijacked science and transformed it into a weapon against the masses. This examination includes: (1.) The occult Origins of Darwinism. (2.) Nominalism and radical empiricism as instruments of epistemological manipulation. (3.) Eugenics and population control. (4.) Scientistic cults and religious engineering. (5.) Echelon, PROMIS software, and other technologies of the Panopticon Singularity. (6.) Neoconservativism as a continuation of Technocracy and Jacobinism. (7.) Transhumanism, Singularitarianism, and other futurist variants of the elite's occult religion. (8.) The unfolding endgame between scientific dictatorships.

The Social Psychology of Good and Evil

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One of the most important books books on morality you'll ever read 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I'll keep my comments brief because the editorial reviews on this book describe its basic essence. What I want to bring to the reader's attention is this: today there is much debate concerning the role that religion plays in developing moral behavior. This book shows how limited that role may actually be by demonstrating the biological and social forces that shape many of our ethical beliefs.

This book is so rich in information (many of the chapters can be easily read by the general public, but a few require some background in academic research)that I used it as the standard reference when writing a chapter on morality for the books Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truthand Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs, which I coauthored with Andrew Newberg.

This book demonstrates that human nature is equally driven to be both selfish and altruistic, hostile yet compassionate, and I came away from it with a very disturbing sense that we are far more amoral than we'd like to believe.

This book, however, is optimistic, and many chapters show how we can overcome personal and social biases and thus function more compassionately in the world. For example, several chapters refer to techniques that can be used in elementary school to teach children how to recognize and change discriminatory behavior.

Personally, the most disturbing chapter was written by Zimbardo, who conducted the Stanford "prison" experiment in the 1970s. In less than 24 hours, students automatically started to mistreat their student "inmates" in ways that hauntingly reflect the atrocities commited in Iraqi prisons by American soldiers. To some degree, we all little criminals, and once we acknowledge this unpleasant human trait, we can become better citizens, which is one of the goals that religious groups endeavor to achieve.

Editorial Review:

This compelling work brings together an array of distinguished scholars to explore key concepts, theories, and findings pertaining to some of the most fundamental issues in social life: the conditions under which people are kind and helpful to others or, conversely, under which they commit harmful, even murderous, acts. Covered are such topics as the complex interaction of individual, societal, and situational factors underpinning good or evil behavior; the role of guilt and the self-concept; and issues of responsibility and motivation, including why good people do bad things. The volume also examines whether aggression and violence are inescapable aspects of human nature, and how cooperative interaction can break down stereotyping and discrimination.

Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of Religion)

Marilyn McCord Adams

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought--how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst "horrendous" evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that--Adams claims--is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.

Hitchcock and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

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Editorial Review:

The shower scene in Psycho; Cary Grant running for his life through a cornfield; “innocent” birds lined up on a fence waiting, watching — these seminal cinematic moments are as real to moviegoers as their own lives. But what makes them so? What deeper forces are at work in Hitchcock’s films that so captivate his fans? This collection of articles in the series that’s explored such pop-culture phenomena as Seinfeld and The Simpsons examines those forces with fresh eyes. These essays demonstrate a fascinating range of topics: Sabotage’s lessons about the morality of terrorism and counter-terrorism; Rope’s debatable Nietzschean underpinnings; Strangers on a Train’s definition of morality. Some of the essays look at more overarching questions, such as why Hitchcock relies so heavily on the Freudian unconscious. In all, the book features 18 philosophers paying a special homage to the legendary auteur in a way that’s accessible even to casual fans.

Life, Sex and Ideas: The Good Life without God

A. C. Grayling

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"A distinctive voice somewhere between Mark Twain and Michel Montaigne" is how Psychology Today described A.C. Grayling. In Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God, readers have the pleasure of hearing this distinctive voice address some of the most serious topics in philosophy--and in our daily lives--including reflections on guns, anger, conflict, war; monsters, madness, decay; liberty, justice, utopia; suicide, loss, and remembrance.
A civilized society, says Grayling, is one which never ceases having a discussion with itself about what human life should best be. In this book, Grayling adds to this discussion a series of short informal essays about ethics, ideas, and culture. A recurring theme is religion, of which he writes "there is no greater social evil." He argues, for instance, that liberal education is better than religion for inculcating moral values. "Education in literature, history, and appreciation of the arts," he says, "opens the possibility for us to live more reflectively and knowledgeably, especially about the nature and variety of human experience. That in turn increases our capacity for understanding others better, so that we can treat them with respect and sympathy, however different their outlook on life." Thought provoking rather than definitive, these essays don't tell readers what to think, but only note what has been thought about how it is best to live.
A person who does not think about life, the author reminds us, is like a stranger mapless in a foreign land. These brief and suggestive essays offer us the outlines of a map, with avenues of thought that are a pleasure to wander down.

Evil: A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology

Paul Ricoeur

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What good is wisdom if you can't communicate it? 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Over the years, I've been to a boatload of academic conferences and listened to dozens of academic, highly professional papers in philosophy and theology. Too often, the papers are so specialized that only a handful of people in the world could possibly follow them. A not uncommon feeling walking out of a lecture room after hearing one of these papers is "huh?"

Reading (and re-reading, and re-reading yet again) Ricoeur's Evil was like walking out of those lecture rooms--which somehow seems appropriate, since the essay is the text of one of his lectures. Ricoeur at his best is irritatingly obscure. Here, he's maddeningly obtuse. I made the mistake of requiring this book in one of my classes, and none of my students--bright young people all--could figure out what Ricoeur was trying to say. Neither could I, actually.

In broad strokes, Ricoeur wants to claim that the experience of evil, either one's own or another's suffering, can never be demythologized, regardless of how strenuously we try to do so. Discourse about evil historically and psychologically has tended toward reductionism, moving from a mythic account, which simply accepts it as a given in life, to theodicy, which tries to explain it away. But the experience remains irreducible.

Okay. But if this is all Ricoeur is saying, it's neither terribly interesting nor original. What's at stake is why the experience of evil is irreducible, and for the life of me I can't figure out what Ricoeur's answer is. Nor is he clear in discussing the different levels of reductionistic discourse about evil. Especially impenetrable are his discussions of what he calls "the stage of gnosticism and anti-gnostic gnosis" (I don't even know what he intends the second term to mean) and Barth's negative dialectic.

In short, a maddening little book. Its subtitle is "A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology." Too right.

Editorial Review:

What is the origin of evil? Where does what we term evil come from? According to Paul Ricoeur, to think through evil is to think through fallibility; because human freedom is summed up as existence prior to evil. Deriving from a lecture given in Lausanne in 1985, this small text adds to the immense ouevre of this philosopher who is not regarded as a theologian but whose thinking readily shares some kinship with certain characteristics of Protestantism. The problem of evil was a question which dogged Paul Ricoeur throughout his reflection and his philosophical works. This is a man who has thought about vulnerability in moral evil with both an exemplary profundity and sensitivity. "Evil: A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology" contains a new extended introduction by Graham Ward which reflects on the significance of Paul Ricoeur's approach to philosophy and to the question of evil for 20th-century theology and philosophy, and a preface by Pierre Gisel.

Seductions of Crime

Jack Katz

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An In Depth Exploration of the Criminal Mind 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

Jack Katz writes an informative, concise and easy to understand book to the criminal mind. He explores the real question of WHY criminals do what they do; what drives and motivates them, and what goes through their minds before, during and after they have committed a crime. His research is complete and impressive.

Crime Exposed! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Jack Katz has published a one-of-a-kind book with 'Seductions Of Crime'. This book exposes an element of crime many do not comprehend: The seductiveness of the crime itself. Many researchers focus on societal influence or the background of the criminal. Katz places special emphasis on how people are drawn to the crime itself psychologically...what makes the crime so aesthetically-pleasing to the criminal element. This is great reading material for anyone, whether you're a police officer or just a civilian. Moving through the mind of a criminal, from petty all the way up to cold-blooded murderer, you are able to conceive the notions and impulses that drive them to perform criminal acts.

Editorial Review:

In this startling look at evil behavior, a UCLA sociologist tries to get inside the criminal psyche to understand what it means or feels, signifies, sounds, tastes, or looks like to do any particular crime.

The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings (Library of Religious Philosophy)

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Editorial Review:

Of all the issues in the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil arguably commands more attention that any other. This text, which is broad in scope, is organized in a way that clearly exhibits the main structure of the overall problem as it has been treated in Western theistic traditions generally and the Christian tradition specifically. "The Problem of Evil" contains both classical and contemporary pieces arranged into four major sections. The first section contains classical statements of the problem, including both traditional and modern statements from the Bible and world literature as well as philosophy and theology. The next section discusses versions of the problem of evil and contains pieces discussing the logical, evidential and existential versions as well as selections offering responses. The book then examines perspectives in theodicy, including Augustinian, Iranaen and process theodicies. The last section, issues in the problem of evil, looks at omnipotence and free will, natural evils and natural law, and the question of whether God must create the best possible world.