Jerome Gellman, "The History of Evil from the Mid-Twentieth Century to Today: 1950-2018" (Routledge, 2018)

Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas

“The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” – Genesis 8:21

“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” - William Shakespeare

We share with other animals the experiences of violence; of pain, fear and loss, but human beings are the only species that reflects on those experiences and names their sources evil. From earliest times to yesterday’s news, humankind has always been concerned – some might even say obsessed – with evil. Nevertheless, so far we have failed to understand evil fully. Scholars and philosophers, theologians and psychologists, and thinkers of all persuasions continue to struggle with the existence of evil. This book presents the contemporary stage in that struggle.

The History of Evil from the Mid-Twentieth Century to Today: 1950-2018 (Routledge, 2018), edited by Jerome Gellman, Charles Taliaferro and Chad Meister, treats topics arising after the atrocities of World War II, while also exploring issues that have emerged over the last few decades. It exhibits the flourishing of analytic philosophy of religion since the war, as well as the diversity of approaches to the topic of God and evil in this era.

Renee Garfinkel is a psychologist, writer, and Middle East commentator for the nationally syndicated TV program, The Armstrong Williams Show.. Write her at [e-mail] or tweet @embracingwisdom.

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