Character Flaws Research Articles

Crisis of National Ethical Models – Implications on Learning Business Ethics in Romanian Universities

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, computed by Transparency International for 2011, Romania is on the 75-th place from 183 analyzed countries, with a score of 3.6 from 10 (in European Union, it is on the 25-th place from 27 states, being surpassed by Bulgaria and Greece). On the same basis, Global Corruption Barometer offers other worrying data for 2010: business environment/private sector is perceived as a corrupt one (a score of 3.6 from 5); only 2% of the respondents trust the business environment/private sector. In these conditions, present cannot offer many ethical models, especially from business. Worse, neither tradition seems more generous, two examples being relevant in supporting this assertion: in Romania, outlaw (in fact, a form of theft) was excessively overrated as a myth; in popular culture, there can be found elements being expression of some collective character flaws (see the Romanian proverb “Uncaught thief honest merchant.”). On this background, the following questions arise: How can we teach business ethics to students living in such a society? How can we convince students of the relevance/utility of business ethics issues, when around them, things happen totally different?Trying to answer these questions, present article aims to investigate how anti-models can be used to build, over time, some valid models.

Emma’s Depression

WHAT IS THERE TO BE DEPRESSED ABOUT? ADOLESCENCE IS TURBULENT, to be sure, and Emma's emotions be pretty free-wheeling. Anxiety, yes; embarrassment, sure; folly, much; boredom, chronic. But comes out right in end in what Terry Castle calls most humane and joyful of (1) According to Lionel Trilling, Austen's novel an idyllic vision of nation, situated in a community in which are no bad people, with a heroine who, for her faults, directed to a very engaging end, a very right purpose. (2) In finding a hope in Trilling in line with Stuart Tave, for whom novel finally confirms and presages what Austen's narrator calls a union of happiness. (3) As Alistair Duckworth says, novel a comedy of errors that succeeds in achieving, in end, a positive vision of society. (4) Harriet returns to her destined spouse, Eltons find satisfaction in one another, Jane and Frank come into open, and Emma discovers her true feelings and makes good on them. At that point, roughly a hundred pages before novel's conclusion, says Patricia Meyer Spacks, boredom accept[ed] ... as a condition of women's experience and consequently disappears as an issue. (5) Austen, says William Deresiewicz, rewrites marriage as friendship to arrive at a moment of Wordsworthian democratic social sympathy. (6) And any shortcomings remaining in characters, according to Wayne Booth, are made up by narrator, who can give us clarity without oversimplification, sympathy and romance without sentimentality, and biting irony without cynicism. (7) Emma, says John Wiltshire, is an optimistic book; its style, which its heroine's style, youthful, confident, presumptive, witty, dogmatic, commanding, assured, except on rare occasions when the voice of an older, sadder woman such as Mrs. Weston takes over. (8) Without flaws there could be no story, but outcome a successful learning experience. Austen's heroines, says Spacks in another book, all have or develop self-command, self-knowledge, consideration of others, right principle which converts politeness to an expression of feeling rather than duty. (9) More recently, Mona Scheuermann focuses on doing right with no separate consideration of right feeling, arriving at this heartwarming conclusion: charm of Austen's novel, of her fictional world, that moral code so warmly encompassing. Just as her characters do, we feel safe in Emma's world. (10) In The Way of World Franco Moretti calls such an outcome the magic moment of 'improvement,' ideally exemplified in Pride and Prejudice. Still, in his eyes, synthesis too perfect and begins to fall apart already in Mansfield Park. (11) Where does that leave Emma? It comes down to how we weigh factors in this longest and weightiest of Austen's novels. What are follies or blunders, what are character flaws? What pertains to individuals, what to environment? And how fundamental are changes wrought by time and experience? Are we given whole truth about any of these matters? Do novel's deepest concerns He with what its narrator reports, or with what D. A. Miller calls nonnarratable? (12) Many contemporary readings concern numerous back stories and maneuverings that narrative appears to conceal. Is Knightley as courtly as his depiction, or he a cold fish? What standards do Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill measure up to? How charitable or selfish Emma's treatment of Harriet? I have not found a critic who has posed really simple question that will be my subject: Would you like to five in Emma's surroundings, in a village called Highbury? (13) Instead of these inquiries into values, symbolisms, hidden motives, and adaptations, instead of asking about characters and their dynamics, I suggest beginning with their milieu. How much improvement possible in Hartfield and Donwell? …

Pharmacological Management of the Obese Patient

Being obese goes beyond moral failure or a character flaw. Obesity has the defining characteristics of a chronic disease for which there is no cure. Treatment may require lifelong treatment which may include pharmacotherapy. Experience with long term use of obesity drugs is limited but evidence suggests that pharmacotherapy can improve patient outcomes and patient outlook. With current obesity drugs, weight loss is usually modest but clinically significant satisfying the FDA threshold for drug effectiveness. This weight loss is associated with clinically significant improvements in many obesity co morbidities and risk factors and could eliminate some risk factors with continued use. When used in conjunction with a comprehensive program for weight management, obesity drugs can reduce appetite or hunger, increase satiety, provide improved control over aberrant eating behaviors and modify food seeking behaviors. Pharmacotherapy can enhance weight loss and compliance during the periods of weight loss and in maintaining that weight loss, increasing physical activity and may enhance a focus on making life long changes.This article will discuss mechanisms of action of obesity drugs, theories of altered body defense of body weight, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved obesity drugs, and off-label use of FDA approved drugs. The value of over-the counter (OTC) medications and diet supplements, as well as fat substitutes in the treatment of obesity drugs will be explored. Obesity drugs awaiting FDA approval and compounds under development will be reviewed. The section on approaches to drug management will include clinical considerations for; who should receive pharmacotherapy and when, length of treatment and drug discontinuation, weight regain and the role of pharmacotherapy.

Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay (review)

Reviewed by: Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay Kate Quealy-Gainer Jay, Stacey . Of Beast and Beauty. Delacorte, 2013. 400p. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-99100-4 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-74320-4 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-307-98142-4 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-12. Secluded in her palace rooms and blind from early childhood, Isra knows little of her domed city, Yuan, only that its survival depends on a blood sacrifice from the queen that will require her to give her life when the city rulers see fit. Outside the dome, the tribes of mutant beasts that roam the desert grow restless, and Gem, a Monstrous warrior, infiltrates the city on a recon mission only to be captured by Isra's guards. During the course of his imprisonment, Gem strikes up a friendship with Isra that eventually blossoms into love—but the powers that be in Yuan, especially the dark magic that has the city and its rulers in its hold, aren't about to let the sacrifice go unmet. The bones of the classic "Beauty and the Beast" story are all here, imaginatively fleshed out with tropes from science fiction, fantasy, and even political drama. Despite his mutated features, it's not Gem who is the Beast but Isra, and Jay plays a delicate game, portraying Isra's ignorance and selfishness first as character flaws and then as vulnerabilities, transforming her from an unlikable [End Page 513] brat to a sympathetic heroine. Narration alternates mostly between Isra and Gem (with a few jarring interruptions from Bo, Isra's suitor), revealing the various secrets they are both keeping from each other and reminding readers that there is far more at stake here than a simple romance, a fact that becomes clear when Isra's reluctance to act at a certain point indirectly leads to the death of Gem's infant son. That they are able to find a happy ending even after that lends a weight of sincerity to their undeniable chemistry and will please readers who like to believe that fairy tales can come true, even under dire circumstances. Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Demonising the cultural Other: Legitimising dehumanisation of foreign domestic helpers in the Hong Kong press

Recent research has provided evidence of the widespread abuse and exploitation of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong. This article explores how domestic abuse of foreign labour may be legitimised through public discourses. It analyses examples from the press of court cases involving FDHs, and compares the media's version of events with the domestic worker's story as it was recorded at a church shelter for abused migrant women. The analyses show that the press engages in positive us-presentation and negative them-presentation. Employers’ crimes against FDHs are consistently mitigated and explained, whereas FDHs’ offences against their employers are characterised as evil actions committed by ‘aliens’ with a flawed character. The article argues that FDHs are dehumanised in the press which contributes to their moral exclusion. Thus, a culture of indifference has developed where public and private discourses construct FDHs as non-entities, expendable and undeserving, and therefore, exploiting them is widely seen as acceptable and just.

US Catholic priests' evaluation of bishops and qualities of respectful leadership

The mental health of subordinates is affected by supervisors. Using the qualities of respectful leadership developed by some researchers, randomly sampled Catholic priests in the US used an eight-point scale (0 = lowest, 7 = highest) to consider the qualities of respectful leadership used by their own bishop and bishops in general. Mean scores of respectful leadership qualities for bishops in general and respondents' specific bishops were moderate. Using paired-t-tests and adopting the Bonferroni technique for adjusting the level of significance (p≤ .002), there were significant differences in 16 of 28 of the respondents' ratings of bishops in general compared to their specific bishop. Overall, respondents offered slightly more favourable ratings for their own bishops. However, priest-respondents seemingly find their leaders with leadership, character, and moral flaws. Mental health implications are considered.

Extending and Withholding Forgiveness to Josh Hamilton

Forgiveness plays a prominent role in social interaction yet has received scant attention in the parasocial realm. This research addresses this gap by investigating people extending or declining forgiveness to Major League Baseball player Josh Hamilton after an alcohol relapse. A thematic analysis of 474 postings in a discussion forum on the Texas Rangers official website was conducted. Analysis revealed that fans forgave Hamilton through (a) support; (b) “addiction is hard” narratives; (c) human condition attributions; and (d) justification and that forgiveness was withheld due to perceptions of Hamilton’s character flaws. The results suggest that when athletes transgress and accept responsibility, it facilitates increased similarity with fans who then engage in supportive communication, including forgiveness. Nevertheless, transgressions also may preclude forgiveness as some fans are unwilling to chance recidivism. The study concludes with implications and directions for future research, which include a recommendation that professional athletes accept responsibility for their wrongdoings to cultivate fan support and hasten the image repair process.

The Inevitability of Tess’s Tragedy

Thomas Hardy is the influential English novelist and realist writer in the nineteenth century. His masterpiece Tess of D'Urbervilles has won him the world prestige. Tess’s tragic fate is the core and clue of the novel. By analyzing the contemporary social, historical and cultural backgrounds and the heroine's character flaws, this paper points out that Tess's tragedy is caused by women's status of economic appendages and the subordinate position in society. Tess’s tragedy in life is inevitable. The arrangement of the plot structure also reflects the fatalism views of Hardy, and renders the necessity of the heroine's tragic destiny.

Reconciling Geppetto: Collaboration, (Re-)Creation, and Deception in the Practice of Hip Hop Music Ethnography

Reconciling Geppetto:Collaboration, (Re-)Creation, and Deception in the Practice of Hip Hop Music Ethnography Anthony Kwame Harrison (bio) Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio is a story of wood coming to life.1 Certainly all wood is at some point alive, but Pinocchio’s story is about the resilient life-force of “a regular woodpile log” (Collodi [1883] 2009: 3). The log first announces its animation through voice. “Don’t hit me too hard!” (3) it pleads to an old carpenter looking to make a table leg. When the carpenter’s neighbor, the spry and hot-tempered Geppetto, acquires the log, he first names it Pinocchio (after a family he once knew) and then carves it into a marionette—both acts that further anthropomorphize the wood. As the story unfolds, Pinocchio walks out on Geppetto, journeying into a world full of talking animals and zoomorphic humans.2 One overriding theme in Pinocchio’s adventure is transgression—described by Charles Klopp as “the testing if not the breaking of . . . social norms” (2006: 28). The rebellious Pinocchio refuses to conform. Rather than being “obedient” and “going to school,” which is what proper boys do (91), Pinocchio the scamp wants to pursue the trade of “eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, and wandering wherever [he likes] from sunup to sundown” (14). That such characteristics are typically associated with the lives of entertainers should not be lost here. Indeed Pinocchio, who is most concerned with satisfying his immediate wants, is initially lured from his path to school by “the music of fifes and the beats of a big drum” (27) and goes on to spend a short stint as a stage-performing jackass. In his introduction to Geoffrey Brock’s 2009 English language [End Page 38] translation of the Italian classic, Umberto Eco insists that though “simple in its prose—and musical in its simplicity . . . Pinocchio is not a simple book” (2009: x). Surpassing the protagonist’s propensity to tell falsehoods—a quality responsible for engendering the puppet’s most memorable physical attribute—Pinocchio’s greatest character flaw is his insatiable wanderlust, which encourages an astonishing gullibility that makes him easy prey for swindlers like the Fox and the Cat. Yet by the end of the book, or the key sequence that Dennis Looney describes as “the beginning of the story’s end” (2006: 38), Pinocchio’s seemingly tragic shortcomings come back to save the day. After he reunites with Geppetto in the belly of a monstrous Shark, it is Pinocchio’s refusal to accept his fate that prompts him, against his father’s “better” judgment, to lead their escape—and when the initial effort fails, to “try again” (150). It is this deep desire to explore, discover, and above all else, survive that carries Collodi’s hero from the stacks of a woodpile along the circuitous road to full humanity. The following essay consists of three sections. In the first—the Adventures of Mad Squirrel—I narrate the development of my scholar-practitioner identity as both an ethnographer and a member of a Bay Area underground hip hop collective.3 This includes an elaboration on the network of interpersonal relations and tensions I entered into as a result of my decision to follow such a research path. I also reflect on the nature of collaborative ethnography and discuss how several issues surrounding it apply to both popular music studies in general and the context of my research in particular. In the second section, Forest Fires Collaborations, I outline several registers through which my collaborative ethnographic research and relationships resound. By considering key dynamics and moments in these ethnographic partnerships, I underscore the different ways in which knowledge emerges through complex and shifting negotiations of power. More specifically, I argue that participatory participant observation renders a different epistemological basis of inquiry, which recasts the ethnographic “field” as a dynamic and conceptually bounded space of knowledge acquisition and production. In the final section, I problematize the notion of research collaboration by discussing the multiple and ambiguous tensions between trust and deception that saturate these in-the-field relationships. My overall aim is to direct attention to the chorus of possibilities that [End Page 39] collaborative...

Notes on Hybrid Novels and Ethical Discourse

The article investigates contemporary European novels that challenge the borders between fiction and nonfiction. Analyzing, among others, works by Antonio Franchini, Javer Cercas and Jonathan Littell, I seek to demonstrate that today’s use of a hybrid genre serves authors as a narrative device to prove the factual truth of their narrations, therefore assuring their social relevance, without losing the capacity to convey a archetypical, meaning of human history. From this perspective I analyze the connections between literature and ethics, suggesting a theory of recognition between the reader and the character and examining in particular the problematic case of the reader’s identification with a morally flawed character.

Variability, Pain Genes and the Pain Practitioner

Most practitioners are aware that there is considerable variability in the pain experience reported by different people. Variability is a key characteristic of acute pain in response to noxious stimuli; we each have our own ‘pain threshold’. It is also characteristic of chronic pain associated with injury or disease, even when the underlying tissue disorder is essentially identical. A notable example is phantom limb pain in amputees. Some amputees report essentially no phantom limb pain at all, while in others, severe disabling pain lasts a lifetime. Reamputation usually fails to relieve phantom limb pain, suggesting that factors associated with the patient are the underlying cause, not details of the surgery [1]. Individual differences in pain response are traditionally attributed to psychosocial and cultural factors, personality, personal inclination and upbringing (i.e., environmental factors). New evidence, however, indicates that genetic factors contribute as much to individual pain response as environment and upbringing [2]. Why should a pain professional be interested to know that pain experience is affected by genes? There are basically four reasons. Stigma First, people who report having severe pain in the absence of easily observed signs of injury or disease are often stigmatized as weak in character, or malingerers. They may even be suspected of trying to cheat ‘the system’; of exaggerating their complaints to garner sympathy from family and friends, and undeserved benefits from employers, insurance companies and the government. Such stigmatization is usually unfair, it undermines self image and is likely to add considerably to the patient’s distress and suffering (and to that of his/her loved ones). For the pain professional, stigma is almost always harmful to efforts at reducing pain. Knowledge, of the therapist and the patient, that one person may have much more pain than another, not because of a character flaw, but for genetic reasons, is sure to provide comfort. If it’s the luck of the genetic draw, it’s not your fault! It should be noted that this benefit does not require actual knowledge of the pain genes involved or even knowledge that, in the specific patient at hand, excessive pain is indeed due to bad luck in the genetic draw. The simple knowledge that science has shown that genes count can reassure your patient. It can also

Plutarch on the Statesman: Stability, Change, and Regret

Abstract This article explores Plutarch’s views of consistent and inconsistent behavior, suggesting that he finds the latter deeply problematic, particularly in the context of the Lives, where statesmen ought to have educated themselves properly before entering into public life; the Moralia offer a more "philosophical" paradigm, in which improvement can be valued as part of a maturation process. After summarizing Plutarch’s beliefs about the formation and deformation of character, I examine several Lives in which the protagonist is seen as inconsistent (Coriolanus, Themistocles, Demosthenes, Cicero, and Alcibiades), showing Plutarch’s different strategies for compensating for what he sees as a character flaw.

Responsibility of a Frontline Manager Regarding Staff Bullying

Canadian frontline nursing managers are observing an increase in the reporting of workplace bullying as more nurses become aware of their employers’ legal obligations to provide employees with a respectful workplace, per the Canada Human Rights Code, Canada Labor Code, and Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. One problem with this reporting is that the victim’s reports of bullying may become overshadowed by the bully’s reports of victim incompetence, resulting in the victim experiencing further victimization. Bullies may report the victim (target) as inept, deficient in knowledge, or lacking ability. Fear of re-victimization plays a significant role in the victim’s failure to report workplace bullying. It is important that managers focus on the bullying and not on the perceived character flaws described by the bully. The author begins by describing workplace bullying and reviewing the workplace bullying literature. She then presents and discusses a composite case study. To assist managers in discouraging bullying she shares supports for addressing bullying, specifically workplace policies, collective agreements, human resources departments, mediation, alternative dispute resolution, and arbitration, and concludes by reminding frontline managers of their important role in identifying bullying and understanding the victim’s fears of further victimization.

Greed, Envy, and the Criminalization of Insider Trading

In October 2011, a U.S. District Court sentenced Raj Rajaratnam to 11 years in federal prison for insider trading. This was the longest sentence for insider trading in U.S. history, but it was significantly less than the 19 to 24-year term requested by the government. Such harsh prison terms (equal in some cases to those meted out for murder or rape) require sound justification in a liberal society. Yet jurists, politicians and scholars have failed to offer a clear articulation of either the economic harm or the moral wrong committed by the insider trader.This article looks to fill this gap by offering a rigorous analysis of insider trading, its criminalization, and its punishment from multiple economic and moral perspectives. This analysis reveals that of the three forms of insider trading currently proscribed under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, two are economically harmful and morally impermissible, but surprisingly one is not (Non-Promissory Insider Trading, where the insider trades on material non-public information while having made no promise not to trade). Having reached this conclusion, alternative justifications or explanations for criminalizing Non-Promissory Insider Trading are explored.Virtue theory is considered as offering an alternative justification for the criminalization of Non-Promissory Insider Trading. In particular, the vice of greed is considered. It is concluded that while insider trading does often reflect the vice of greed, a moralistic contempt for this character flaw cannot justify the criminalization of otherwise morally innocent conduct because this would violate the firmly held liberal Harm Principle famously articulated J.S. Mill.But even if the criminalization of Non-Promissory Insider Trading cannot be justified, it remains for it to be explained. The socio-psychological theory of cognitive dissonance (as articulated by Dan Kahan and Eric Posner) is entertained as an explanation for how morally innocent conduct such as Non-Promissory Insider Trading might first become criminalized and then later perceived to be immoral by a population. Under the theory, actors generally regarded as moral innocents may initially be targeted for punishment as scapegoats in the wake of a disastrous or harmful social event. Over time, to avoid cognitive dissonance between the belief that conduct is morally permissible and the act of punishing it, society’s shared belief in the moral permissibility of the conduct is simply dropped.This theory of cognitive dissonance fails to explain, however, why Non-Promissory Insider Traders would be targeted as scapegoats to begin with. The moralistic contempt for the vice of greed in insider traders (already discussed) offers one motivation, but the public’s own vice of envy concerning the easy money made by insiders may offer another. Since neither motivation supplies a justification for criminalization in a liberal democracy, and since envy in particular has its own harmful effects on society, the Article concludes on the cautionary note that we should perhaps rethink our laws and reconsider our attitudes concerning Non-Promissory Insider Trading.

The Narcissistic Entrapment of Scarlett O’Hara

The popular image of Scarlett O``Hara``s character easily polarizes readers into extreme and equally superficial opposites. Her existence in readers` minds as feisty American heroine or self-centered princess neglects the nuanced depiction of her complex and destructive personality. The author`s achievement lies in providing a morally superficial and simplistic character with a complex subtext of motivations. In conjunction with a clinical understanding of narcissism, it can be shown that she ought neither to be admired as icon nor scorned as psychotic, but seen as the profoundly flawed character the text carefully conveys. The clinical understanding of narcissistic personality disorder is currently under debate again. It stands to be eliminated from the next edition of The American Psychiatric Association`s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) due to renewed uncertainty whether narcissism should be seen as a clinical disease or just a collection of signs and symptoms better understood in terms of other disorders. In Scarlett`s actions and motivations it is possible to see such a collection of signs that invite the broader label of narcissistic personality traits. Specifically, Scarlett`s narcissistic complex stems from the insufficient mirroring supplied by her distant mother Ellen and the resultant overidealization of Ellen`s womanhood. The aim of this essay is to show that Scarlett`s enchantment with the image of her mother and consequently her own ego-ideal, has consequences for relating adequately to others and being able to mature. Since her lack of self-analysis cannot aid her in detecting these flaws, she is also unable to avert a regression to girlhood strategies and fantasies. This dynamic can best be constructed as a narcissistic entrapment.

Kate Flint, The Transatlantic Indian, 1776–1930The Transatlantic Indian, 1776–1930. Kate Flint. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009. Pp. xv+376.

<i>Kate Flint</i>, The Transatlantic Indian, 1776–1930<i>The Transatlantic Indian, 1776–1930</i>. Kate Flint. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009. Pp. xv+376.

COVERING “FINANCIAL TERRORISM”

The 2010 Greek financial crisis marks an important chapter in an era where the underlying maneuvers of private financial entities figure centrally in the wherewithal of Western nation states. Utilizing framing research, this study examines representation of the Greek crisis by US news media from December 2009 to July 2010. In contrast to the incident's coverage in the European and business press initially attributing the crisis to speculation and the manipulation of Greek debt, major US news media presented the event through specific event-driven frames that obscured knowledge of deeper causes. By drawing attention to dramatic events in Athens and the American stock markets, US outlets presented the financial crisis in narrow terms that blamed the event on alleged character flaws and ineptitudes of a nation and its people. This reportage legitimized proposals of economic austerity as reparation. In the midst of excessive business and financial-related information, the ability of US journalism to explain how and for whom transnational economic processes proceed remains provisional. Journalism prompting public discourse on such dynamics is crucial at present as the formulas hastening the Greek crisis now threaten industrialized countries throughout the West.

Removal of doctors from practice for professional misconduct in Australia and New Zealand

ObjectiveTo examine how disciplinary tribunals assess different forms of misconduct in deciding whether to remove doctors from practice for professional misconduct.Design and settingMultivariable regression analysis of 485 cases in which...

The Return of John Moffat

The Return of John Moffat

Aspects of Evil

Aspects of Evil Robert L. Arrington (bio) On Evil by Terry Eagleton (Yale University Press, 2011. 192 pages. $16 pb) Oddly dedicated to Henry Kissinger (an evil man, are we to assume, or, ironically, a good one?), Terry Eagleton's book is a dazzling collection of references to philosophers (medieval to modern), modern novels, psychological theories, and theological tracts. Eagleton certainly wears his erudition on his sleeve. Unfortunately his clarity of logical exposition is less evident. He offers us an ontological theory of evil, describing it in terms that he thinks apply to the human condition itself. As such it is inescapable. Not to be equated with simple wrongdoing, nor even wickedness, evil is not, in Heidegger's terms, an ontic condition, and hence variable and contingent; instead it is a part of human being qua human being. Eagleton, as is well known, is a Marxist. He is also in this book a psychoanalyst— or at least a follower of Freud. Evil is said to be an expression of the death wish, which operates in all of us and is in essence a desire for nonbeing, expressed inwardly toward ourselves and outwardly toward others. Eagleton thinks that evil and its companion, the death wish, have consequences that, while dire and inevitable, nevertheless are avoidable, at least on the social level. In his introduction Eagleton worries about the problem of determinism. If evil is something that "infects" some people and societies, then how can their evil actions be avoided? Such a "disease" would be a cause of the behavior and would be inevitable, given the laws of causation. In that case it would be improper to hold the perpetrators of the evil actions accountable and responsible. They could no more avoid this behavior than one could avoid the consequences of any medical condition that causes an evil act; they would need to be treated, not punished. In fact such actions would be completely intelligible according to the laws of causation, whereas many have argued that evil is fundamentally unintelligible and mysterious. Nor, Eagleton believes, can evil be said to be uncaused or a "cause in itself," as others have thought. "This," he tells us, "mistakenly implies that an action which has a cause cannot be freely undertaken." Unfortunately he provides us with no good argument for this claim. If causes are necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of an event, and if these necessary and sufficient conditions for the occurrence of an act conspire, how could the act not take place? If Satan or adverse social conditions are what an evil person or society are up against, "then evil would seem to be unbeatable." If the young killers of toddlers, say, are born evil or under [End Page lxi] the control of demonic powers, then they are innocent. So, Eagleton concludes, "those who wish to punish others for their evil . . . need to claim that they are evil of their own free will." Eagleton sees no problem here; however, for, as he cavalierly remarks, "The truth . . . is that reason and freedom are bound closely together." The many philosophers today who think that reasons are in fact the causes of actions would beg to disagree. Eagleton owes us an explanation of how responsibility for evil actions and causation are compatible. At this point Eagleton states one of his conclusions: "Either human actions are explicable, in which they cannot be evil; or they are evil, in which case there is nothing more to be said about them. The argument of this book is that neither of these propositions is true." In other words either one can explain evil—as the result of possession by the devil, social conditions, or a simple matter of fact about some people and their character—or . . . what? Evil can be characterized, he thinks, and in some cases it can be dealt with, avoided, or rendered less likely to occur. We can hold people responsible for their evil actions, and we can legitimately punish them for such actions—this in spite of the fact that there are undeniable social conditions that often give rise to evil behavior, or character flaws that can be uncovered, or even possession by the...