CORE 466 - Monster Ball: The Dance of Great Arguments about Good and Evil
Prerequisites: Core 101-Core 105 and at least sixth semester standing
Delivery: Other
This is a chronological, historical discussion of great (primarily Western) thinkers on the topics of evil and ethics. Beyond ethics, it is a survey of writing on evil conceived of as a force: from age-old images of Satan in the Christian and Muslim traditions (and others) to modern attempts to demonize the enemy. Through centuries of Western history we will trace the idea of evil as something that is first viewed as part of the Divine, and later viewed philosophically and in a relativistic light. Synchronically we will examine the tendency in many cultures to view evil as a force, along with the similar tendency to demonize enemies of various kinds. The student will come to understand how a diachronic trend since the Enlightenment has allowed modern Western thinkers to comfortably and dispassionately make synchronic comparisons among many cultures. Practical examples, from the 14th century Black Death to versions of Jihad, will abound.
3 credits
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