Evil   /   Summer 2000   /    Articles

Operationalizing Evil

Jaywalking, emeraldschell; flickr.

We need to confront the doubts we have about the language of evil in order more fully to incorporate that language into our moral discourse.

In “Operationlizing Evil,” Charles T. Mathewes suggests that we need to confront the doubts we have about the language of evil in order more fully to incorporate that language into our moral discourse. He outlines some of the things that we need the concept of evil to do and addresses concerns that scholars have raised about our very use of the term, defending it as both necessary and helpful in our efforts to understand and act in our world.

To read the full article online, please login to your account or subscribe to our digital edition ($25 yearly). Prefer print? Order back issues or subscribe to our print edition ($30 yearly).