Tutorial_Evil (HUMA01H1S 2013)

Transcript

1. Evil…?
2. What is evil?  A person?  An action?  A thought?  A belief?  Is evil absolute? Universal?  Is evil relative?
4. What is Evil?  Monsters? Demons? Devil?  Unhuman? Inhuman? Inhumane?  That which is “other,” inexplicable, unknowable.  What are the effects of demonizing or dehumanizing?
6. “The definition of a hegemonic viewpoint is (a) that it defines within its terms the mental horizon, the universe of possible meanings, of a whole sector of relations in society or culture; and (b) that it carries with it the stamp of legitimacy – it appears co-terminus with what is ‘natural’, ‘inevitable’, ‘taken for granted’, about the social order.” – Stuart Hall, “Encoding/ Decoding,” 137
8. What shapes “evil”?  What kinds of ideologies can shape what we think of as evil?
9. First they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. – Martin Niemöller, German Pastor
10.  What kinds of responses do we have to evil?   Think about Truth and Reconciliation Commissions  Do evil individuals know or think that they are evil or that they are doing evil acts? How can we respond to evil?