A Short Book About Evil

The concept of evil in the modern world has been discussed widely, and yet few books combine theories of evil with the clinical experience of real life events and situations. This book identifies reasons behind evil and how evil deeds come about, maintaining throughout that all of us can get into evil states of mind. Drawing on her experience of working in prisons with convicted criminals for a number of years, Gwen Adshead takes theories of evil and applies them to people she has met and conversations she has had with them. Integrating the forensic psychodynamic perspective with the theological and psychological ones common in other works, she expands on the idea that evil is an adjective as opposed to a noun, and evil tendencies lie within us all. Ten short chapters each deal with a different aspects of evil behaviour, covering everything from moral reasoning and identity to the ethics of care and justice are examined. Psychopathy and illness are considered, along with the human capacity for cruelty, including sadism, the death instinct, and destructive envy. The fragility of goodness is also considered. This book will be of interest to professionals studying or working in psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, theology and related areas, and anybody else interested in the concept of evil and how it affects society.