What is it in the behavioral makeup of ordinary people, operating in the course of ordinary daily living, that lends itself to participating in horrendous activities -- and doing so at times with zeal, at times with joy, at times without duress? Katz demonstrates that we do not need any special behavioral equipment for doing evil. The very same behaviors can take us in both directions for either living humanely and decently or for doing evil. This book demonstrates how some of these processes work, and sensitizes us to the ...
Read More
What is it in the behavioral makeup of ordinary people, operating in the course of ordinary daily living, that lends itself to participating in horrendous activities -- and doing so at times with zeal, at times with joy, at times without duress? Katz demonstrates that we do not need any special behavioral equipment for doing evil. The very same behaviors can take us in both directions for either living humanely and decently or for doing evil. This book demonstrates how some of these processes work, and sensitizes us to the potential for evil in our ongoing daily activities. This knowledge about ordinary behavior can empower us to take charge of our own direction, and help us turn away from beguilings of evil when they come our way.
Read Less
Add this copy of Ordinary People and Extraordinary Evil: A Report on the to cart. $43.17, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1993 by State University of New York Press.
Add this copy of Ordinary People and Extraordinary Evil: a Report on the to cart. $38.95, new condition, Sold by Eighth Day Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Wichita, KS, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by State University of New York Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. Elaborating on the theme of what Hannah Arendt called ''the banality of evil, '' this book evokes horror not only by its description of that which approaches the boundaries of comprehension but by its analysis of the very familiar processes and contexts which involve ''ordinary people'' in the creation of ''extraordinary evil. '' In short, it confronts each of us with the realization that there is very little that separates us from the perpetrators of holocausts and gulags, that the lines are not single and dramatic but many and unremarkable in themselves. The author uses his skills as a sociologist with a depth of humanity--a recognition that the unbounded optimism of modernity in reason and science has been shattered, and that though science can help us understand the process of ''the beguilement of evil, '' ultimately our only hope lies in the moral dimension, where convictions and decisions for good must be formed and responsibly acted upon. 154 pp.
Add this copy of Ordinary People and Extraordinary Evil: a Report on the to cart. $95.36, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1993 by Suny Press.
