Background: This academic essay was written in late 2020 as the final project of a masters degree. In it, I delve into the nature of human evil by engaging in a detailed study of a historical atrocity: Nazism and the Holocaust. Through this horrifying case study, I aimed to shed light not only on that event, but also on the nature of human evil on a more universal level. The theory I put forward in the final chapter – ‘Towards a New Conception of Evil’ is intended to have contemporary relevance to our understanding of evil in the modern world, and so will hopefully also be of value to readers of this blog.
Indeed, deepening our understanding of evil (and in particular mass evil practiced by the State) has only become more relevant in recent months, given the the woefully under-reported events currently developing in China`s Xinjiang Province. As these words are being written, millions of Uighur Muslims have been incarcerated by the Chinese State and have been forced to endure intense labor, ideological ‘re-education’, and, if some reports are to be believed, sterilization. What we may well be witnessing are the stirrings of yet another genocide, and so now more than ever it is necessary to look back and reflect on the horrors of the 20th century. After all, if we fail to fully imbibe the lessons of history, we may well be left mute and uncomprehending when the next Holocaust comes knocking.
Continue reading “Learning the Lessons of the Holocaust: Towards a More Sophisticated Conception of Evil”