FYS: Evil (PHIL 89)
Instructor: Susan Wolf. This seminar meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 – 12:15 in Caldwell 208.
What is evil? Who – if anyone – is responsible for it? How different are evil people from the rest of us? How should we respond to them? The course will explore the nature of evil through philosophy,nonfiction, fiction and film.
Readings will include Melville’s Billy Budd, Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, and Adam Morton’s On Evil.
The course will involve weekly informal writing assignments and several short papers. In addition, students will select an independent project, presenting their findings to the class and leading a discussion on it.
Susan Wolf’s webpage