Introduction

Why ought we to concern ourselves with understanding a concept of evil? It is elusive, politically and religiously charged, and a deeply controversial and puzzling notion. Critics insist that it is at best unhelpful (it has no explanatory power) but, worse still, the idea of evil is archaic and a relic of a problematic superstitious and primitive religious past. The term is sometimes simply used as a way of referring to bad events. Natural evils are those situations where great harm or destruction occurs – earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and so on. It is also used as a part of our moral vocabulary. Moral evil refers to those acts, persons, or institutions which engage in deeply immoral activities. However, as many recent scholars have sought to argue, the evocation of moral evil very often leads to polarization, demonization, and confusion.