The concept of evil remains very much with us

Regrettably, the concept of evil, and the actions and events to which it is often used to refer, remain very much with us. The new volume, Moral Evil in Practical Ethics, edited by Shlomit Harrosh and Roger Crisp, presents different conceptions and theories of moral evil as they pertain to actions, persons, groups, ideologies, social structures and environments. Contributors discuss a wide range of phenomena, including bullying, homophobia, the mass killings in Norway in 2011, political evil, as well as accounts of responses to evil.

Senior Researcher Robin May Schott contributes with an article, “Is Bullying Evil?”. She doubts the wisdom of seeking definitions of evil based on paradigm cases, as they often overlook the grey zones in which everyday harms occur. She proposes three orientations for moral reflection on evil – the individual, the social, and the conditions for evil – to understand how bullying can be evil.