Manifestations Of Evil Research Articles

Комментарий очерка Сергея Слонимского «Скандалист поневоле: хроника хронического стресса – 1972-1991» из книги «Заметки на полях нотной тетради»

The article continues the publication and commentary of S. M. Slonimsky’s 2002 essay “An Unwilling Scandalmonger: A Chronicle of Chronic Stress – 1972-1991” from the book “Notes in the Margin of a Music Score”. Due to space limitations, the entire material of the essay is divided into three parts: the first article is dedicated to the post-war period of the author’s life until the beginning of the 1970s. The second (this) article explores events from the composer’s life and work in 1972-1991. The following, third article will cover the last decade of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, 1992-2002. The focal points of the author’s reflections in the second essay of the “chronicle of chronic stress – 1972-1991” are also themes of moral and ethical issues within the composer’s society. These themes are explored in a different light – in direct connection with S. M. Slonimsky’s life in chronological order. The essay covers the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The writing of this commentary is driven by the intensifying crisis of moral values in contemporary society. The author concludes: one should “focus on only one painful moment, quite typical of my creative and life path. Perhaps scandalous storms are my cross, the fateful predetermination of my destiny. Perhaps it is a fatal necessity for an independent person walking their own path, not wanting to prudently submit to those in power, to what promises peace, recognition, success, prosperity, and happy success. That is how I am, and that is how I will remain until the end <…> In my work, my philosophical worldview, personal traits of my emotional temperament, and my attitude towards many people inhabiting Russia, Europe, Asia, our entire earth are absolutely obvious.” As a result of the study, Slonimsky’s unwavering commitment to the established moral and ethical order and his uncompromising stance against manifestations of evil, envy, and betrayal in the composers’ milieu and music teaching have been identified and confirmed.

This Is What Evil Looks Like: Toward a Phenomenology of Evil in Postmodern Form

ABSTRACT: This essay draws on phenomenological and psychoanalytical insights to explore, comparatively, manifestations of evil during the twentieth-century totalitarianism and the post-truth present. The regimes of Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Alexander Lukashenko provide contemporary examples. Special attention is paid to the genre of performative confession in Stalinist times and in the present. Authors mentioned include: Anne Applebaum, Hannah Arendt, Anton Chekhov, Nathan Englander, Sigmund Freud, René Girard, Jan Tomasz Gross, Irena Grudzińska Gross, Robert Hamerton-Kelly, Edmund Husserl, Leszek Kołakowski, Ivan Krastev, Marcin Król, Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Czesław Miłosz, Jan Patočka, Tadeusz Słobodzianek, and Tomas Venclova.

ACTUALIZATION OF CONCEPT “EVIL” IN “A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE” BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

The paper aims to study the concept “Evil” in the book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin. Linguo-stylistic analysis of the selected examples has been conducted, focusing on different manifestations of evil as symbolized by various characters. The extracted examples from the book series are discussed with a special emphasis on the nouns, verbs and adjectives, as well as stylistic devices that manifest evil in figurative ways.

Utopian Imagination in Ancient Iran: The Nostalgia of a Lost Paradise

Abstract Various manifestations of utopia, aspiring or conservative, idyllic or oppressive, credible or far-fetched, have long been elaborated in classics of literature, philosophy, and political theory. Nevertheless, utopian imagination has a tendency to transcend the boundaries of classic texts and debates. Presenting an account of an oriental utopia lost in history, this article revisits utopian imagination in ancient Iran. In particular, it discusses the construction of the utopian city of Varjamkard under Jamshid, one of the most popular Shahs or kings in Persian mythology. A paradise hidden from the world’s eyes, Varjamkard was built to protect people from the dire winter that was the manifestation of evil on earth; but then this earthly paradise was lost because of Jamshid’s disregard for a divine law. This paper aims to unearth an ancient utopian tradition, taking the concept of utopia to the less explored realms in history and times.

The Opposition between Good and Evil in the Story of Jamshid

The good-evil opposition is amongst the most pivotal themes of Shahnameh. Belief in two evil and good forces has found its way from the heart of the ancient Iranian myths into Shahnameh making this epical work the arena of the battle between the good and evil forces. In this eternal battle which is as old as the mankind history, the symbols of good rise up against the manifestations of evil and each of them try overcoming the other. Kingship of Jamshid can be divided into two different sections. In the first period, he invents a lot of things based on his enjoyment of the divine glory and gives rise to a golden period for the Iranians through his services. In this period, the good forces have domination over the evil forces and Jamshid symbolizes the good. His interventions are in line with endowing comfort and tranquility to Urmazd’s creatures. In the second period, Jam thinks of himself as the God and starts exercising ingratitude, untruthfulness and insanity and becomes the symbol of evildoing and loses the divine glory and sets the ground for his own wastage and this makes the Iranians resort to Zahhak.

A Kantian Interpretation of the Infinite Manifoldness of Evil Incentives in Real Human Life

Kant defined moral evil as reversing the order between self-love and morality. For many critics, however, his egoistically-orientated notion of self-love fails to make sense of the infinitely manifold incentives of evil under the human condition. Against this criticism, my article will re-interpret Kantian self-love and empirical self-conception from both the transcendental and empirical level, thus offering a transcendental grounding for the empirical manifestations of evil. In this way I will argue that we can explain rather sufficiently the infinite manifoldness of evil incentives in real human life with Kant’s prima facie simplistic definition of evil.

Terroryzm – droga negacji życia

The modern world is still marked by many manifestations of evil, which is always taking on newer forms. There are, for example, military operations, sanctions, crimes, assassinations and killings. Currently, this dramatic list is complemented by terrorism, which has become a sign of modern civilization. These aspects of civilization improve the tools and methods to fight against life, solidarity, against goodness, justice and peace. Therefore, every manifestation of terrorism causes deep pain, brings suffering, because it painfully hurts the entire human civilization. This barbarism deserves universal condemnation always and in all circumstances. It works against the human person and interpersonal solidarity. It is of an extremist nature, because one of the foundations of its action is the absolutization of political or economic interests, in accordance with the principle "the end justifies the means". Terrorism is a real crime against humanity.

“At the foot of the throne of the ruler.” “Vesuvius the Killer” as a catalyst for the accepting one’s fate in Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s oeuvre

I dwell upon the way Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (1919-2000), a prominent Polish emigrant writer of the 20th century reflected upon the phenomenon of earthquakes. He lived for nearly a half of the century (1955-2000) at the foot of Vesuvius and witnessed several earthquakes. Moreover, his father-in-law Benedetto Croce, an Italian philosopher, historian and politician barely survived the earthquake of the 1883, which severely injured him both physically and psychologically. I specifically reflect on Herling-Grudziński’s thoughts about this phenomenon he expresses in his notes in the “Diary Written at Night” (1977-2000) and especially in the stories included into this book. I analyse the connection of this process to the mechanisms of psychological and artistic adaptation, his settling in the foreign space both in terms of literature and in terms of life. I focus on a number of interconnected contexts in which “the shadow of the earthquake” appears in Herling-Grudziński’s prose as a specific phenomenon. Namely, it is connected to the language inseparably and immediately, but at the same time, it is a manifestation of Evil directed against the divine in man. The writer attempted at defining its specificity as related both to his self and his reactions, and to the mentality of native Neapolitans. The shadow that hangs over the worldview of the Neapolitans, clearly embodies the idea of the fragility of the human life through the feeling that the fate of a man although full of unexpected calamities, is never unique. Giacomo Leopardi defined this as a shadow of “Vesuvius the Killer”. The analysis suggests that this shadow facilitated the adaptation of Herling-Grudziński to the foreign space.

Проблема насилля у філософських розвідках другої половини хх століття

The article explores scientific explorations of the problem of violence in the subject field of social philosophy. It was determined that the basic theories for them were the theories of violence (Karl Kautsky, Ludwig Gumplowicz, Eugene During), theories of revolutionary violence (Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Mikhail Bakunin, Vladimir Lenin, Lev Trotsky), criticism of violence (Georges Sorel, Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin). The research actualizes the need to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the study of this social phenomenon using the results of scientific research in the fields of philosophy of law, philosophical anthropology, social philosophy, political and psychological sciences. Analysis of the philosophical works of this period allowed us to show the following trends. Franz Fanon suggested that violence is seen as a value for the oppressed, as a path to freedom, and therefore a cause for pride. The colonized masses intuitively feel that their liberation is realized only by force, recognizing that violence alone is an effective mean of confronting a more powerful economic and military rival. Giorgio Agamben distinguishes sovereign violence, which is realized in a state of emergency and is no longer treated as natural, it is simultaneously sacralized and desacralized. Jacques Derrida has identified two types of violence that are in a state of mutual rivalry: violence as a historical solution that appears outlawed by law and the state but does not contain decisive knowledge; and violence as decisive knowledge and a certainty of reality that is incapable of decision. Hans Magnus Enzensberger has identified a trend toward violence that is characterized by a lack of ideological motivation and a blurring of the object of the target. Philosopher Lars Svendsen views violence in ethical and political context as a manifestation of evil, as a condition of a democratic society self-preservation. Karl Schlogel showed that outbreaks of violence occurred first and foremost in societies lacking political elites that lost control of the reorganization of the public and the state as a whole, and a readiness for violence replaces fear of civil war. Wolfgang Sofsky argues that violence in various forms has existed throughout human history, it has become a kind of anthropological constant of human existence, violence and culture are interdependent. Slavoj Zizek emphasizes that the individual's assessment of the act of violence is based on the expected standard of normal non-violent situation. In the phenomenology of violence by Michael Staudigl violence is understood as a relational phenomenon.

Manifesting evil: Demons and physical monstrosity in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The interplay between spiritual evil and physical monstrosity plays a large role in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. The Testaments are structured around the understanding of a human spirit, the mind, which stands between good and evil spirits, and in general it is the mind that forms the focus of the text’s exhortation. The evil spirits influence the mind, causing a person to think unrighteous thoughts and ultimately commit unrighteous acts. The role of the mind, however, is so large that it even plays a dominant role in the physical appearance of a person. In this article, I examine three distinct cases where someone’s ethical and spiritual evil results in physical monstrosity. First, we see that when someone’s mind follows the temptations of an evil spirit, they become disabled. Second, we see that an evil spirit has the power to poison someone’s own neutral spirit, which ultimately leads the poisoned person to manifest themselves in a monstrous way. Finally, women bear monstrous giants as a direct result of their mental lust for the angelic Watchers. These three cases show the close relationship between external appearance and internal demeanor in the Testaments. Thus, humankind functions as a means through which the invisible monstrous manifests itself in the visible world. This realization helps clarify some early Christian understandings of humankind’s natural and monstrous states, as well as their ideas about ethics and social conduct, the nature of evil, and how the manifestation of evil in the physical world is influenced.

НАДЦІННІСТЬ ЗЛА ТА ЙОГО ОНТОЛОГІЧНІ ВИМІРИ У ФІЛОСОФІЇ Ж. БАТАЯ


 
 
 Aspects of evil are revealed as the aesthetic inspiration of art, mainly of literature, and of the natural necessity of the existence of evil as the basic plane of being. It is explored the idea of death as a manifestation of evil and the need for death to develop life. G. Bataille discloses the philosophy of death through a system of sacrifice of the best achievement in accordance with the religious beliefs of ancient peoples. The Christian model of rejecting the death of an innocent victim and the Protestant ethic of accumulating wealth are defined by the philosopher as an unnatural phenomenon and a threat to life. It is stated that man perceives death through the prism of exclusively evil and, unlike an animal, scrolls death through the process of knowing good and evil. Attention is paid to identifying evil as the primary need for good. The question of suffering, the creator of which the philosopher defines God, is explored. In the same context, the essence of God is revealed as well as the role of the Devil in becoming God as the absolute of good. Evidence has been shown to be a necessary value that promotes communion with God.
 
 

Health risk associated with the oral consumption of “Chiniy-tref”, a traditional medicinal preparation used in Martinique (French West Indies): Qualitative and quantitative analyses of aristolochic acids contained therein

“Chiniy-tref” (CT) is a traditional preparation used in folk medicine in Martinique Island (French West Indies) that is nowadays mainly taken orally to prevent or act against any “manifestation of evil”. CT is easily prepared at home by macerating larvae of the endemic swallowtail Battus polydamas (ssp.) cebriones (Dalman, 1823), sometimes accompanied by a leaf of its host-plant Aristolochia trilobata L., in commercial rum. We have previously reported the detection of nephrotoxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acids (AAs) I and II in CT, leading the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Martinique to issue an alert regarding the potential risks associated with its consumption in 2015. In order to complete the toxicity risk assessment for oral consumption of CT, a full qualitative analysis of AAs and their analogues (AAAs) was performed, as well as a quantitative determination of the major AAs, namely AAs I and II. The phytochemical profiling of AAAs present in CT, that also corresponds to that of B. polydamas cebriones larvae feeding on A. trilobata, has been established for the first time by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization quadrupole time of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. AAs I and II were quantified in a small panel of tinctures by using a validated UHPLC/UV method, allowing us to estimate the probable daily intakes of these toxins by CT consumers. The results proved the existence of a real risk of renal toxicity and carcinogenicity associated with the chronic oral consumption of CT in Martinique, and more generally of similar “snake bottles” throughout the Caribbean.

El Diablo, la paz y la guerra están en el territorio y en la cabeza: trastornos mentales y procesos espirituales en los Nasa Wesx del sur del Tolima

La comunidad indígena Nasa Wesx adelantó un acuerdo de paz con la guerrilla de las FARC que determinó su salida del círculo de guerra y confrontación que ha afectado a las poblaciones del sur del Tolima colombiano. Además, ha usado diferentes recursos para mantener su autonomía territorial y protegerse de un conflicto vigente en los márgenes de su territorio tradicional. Entre las amenazas que más preocupan a los pobladores están las apariciones de espíritus, entendidas como manifestaciones del mal y posesiones espirituales que arriesgan el equilibrio social. Estas son confrontadas mediante operaciones rituales de la religiosidad evangélica -confesión mayoritaria entre la comunidad indígena- que resuelven los conflictos mentales como si fuesen asuntos de fe. Este escrito argumenta que tales conflictos, así como los sociales, desde la perspectiva de los Nasa Wesx son un mismo problema con una única terapia: la participación colectiva en el mal individual. Al ser la religión una práctica gregaria, hace de remedio para resolver tanto los males de la mente como el desequilibrio social.

Az önámító költő és a rossz világa

The novel, titled Nero, the Bloody Poet, written by Kosztolányi in 1922, is about the deviant human being; the portrayal of a deteriorating era serves as background for the portrait of a degenerate personality possessed by the demon spirit – the amateur poet and the disturbed dictator at the same time. it is about a man who submitted himself to, and became the ambassador of, the evil in the world. However, the manifestation of evil cannot be solely related to the main protagonist of the novel. As nero was left alone to make his way in life the novel can also be accounted for as a story of value dissolution. Kosztolányi deliberately put evil in the centre of discussion in his novel and identified it with the fundamental problem of human existence. The reader witnesses several aspects and stages of the distortion of nero’s character until finally distinguishes the inexperienced poet from the oppressive emperor. The use of the framework of the theory of value systems and the incorporation of Hermann Broch’s conception of kitsch might open up new perspectives for the analysis of the novel in the future.

Kurjuse intermeedialisest avaldumisest

The article explores evil as a medium, proceeding from Joachim Paech’s differentiation between the medium and its manifestations. In this light, evil is viewed as a phenomenon that can be expressed in only certain media forms and which therefore assumes different form-specific levels of meaning. Paying attention to different manifestations of evil makes it possible to analyse different intermedial aspects of works of art, making use of the notions of the overt and covert. The manifestation of evil in a perceptible and definable manner enables us to recognise, avoid or even overpower it. However, its covert and ambiguous manifestations are more powerful. Thus, the concealing of evil is characteristic of narratives that allow evil to manifest itself without direct reference to or overt representation of it. The visual representation of evil as an image, be it through mental description of images or physical images on the screen, reveals two contrastive regimes. One of them could, following Roland Barthes,be called obvious (obvie). Th is regime is characterised by the use of traditional rhetorical devices and its emphasis on symbolic expression.The second regime could be labelled obtuse (obtus). In this case, the focus is not on the meaning of the image, but its materiality. The article applies this theoretical apparatus to the analysis of two Estonian novels, The Misadventures of the New Satan (Porgupohja uusvanapagan) and Old Barny or November (Rehepapp ehk November) and their respective screen adaptation. It focuses on the image ofthe devil and, more broadly, the manifestations of evil. The analysis suggests that the first pair primarily displays the use of the obvious regime, accompanied by the obtuse; the second pair reverses the perspective. The aestheticisation of the obtuse emerges as the central feature of Old Barny or November as well as the visual designof its screen adaptation. The analysis also touches on the differences between the devil and the ogre (vanapagan in Estonian) and themore or less symbolic representations of the material elements associated with evil. Keywords film, novel, devil, ogre (vanapagan), image, Roland Barthes

Reckoning with evil in social life

ABSTRACTAny conceptualisation of evil, arguably, has to empower us to resist or transform it in our lived worlds. The latter concern motivates this paper much more than a thorough analysis of evil itself. Drawing on Jewish and Christian thought, I tentatively consider evil as resulting from (or, being exacerbated by) the incomplete or failed cultivation of the humane. Along this line, evil is the opposite of humanity; it is the antihuman, the subhuman (Buber), or the demonic (Heschel). Gratuitous violence, hatred, resentment, and malice manifest this dark ‘power’ of evil. In the aforementioned traditions, peace and justice are conceived as being dependent on the inner order or unity of the soul. Conversely, iniquity – as the manifestation of evil – in the world reflects conflicts or disorders in individual souls (‘selves’). Hence the need to constitute one’s personhood. Such continuous creation takes place through genuine human encounters, where and when love, friendship, and gratitude are allowed to unfold themselves. These ‘dispositions’ are conceived as counterweights to evil. I will work out this argument, but also briefly examine how education, rural and urban planning, economic and political ‘systems’ can either breed or curtail evil.

Evil and Justice: An Experiential Personal Construct Approach

George Kelly (1955) made a philosophical assumption that the universe is integral or interconnected. This assumption, often overlooked by scholars, has profound implications for global issues facing the world today, including the perpetration of acts that can be considered evil. I first give an experiential personal construct psychology definition of evil (the perpetration of acts, out of our own woundedness, that harm another's central ways of being). I then discuss the ways that evil acts are manifested: objectifying others, denying connectedness, numbing of inner experiences, and a limited ability to introspect. Using these manifestations of evil, I illustrate the ways that evil acts are being perpetrated against others (e.g., travel bans, border walls) as well as the greater universe (e.g., ignoring climate change, exploiting the natural world). I conclude by discussing steps each person can take to minimize the perpetration of evil in the world today. Some of these actions are public (e.g., political, speaking up); others are more personal (e.g., maintaining an attitude of humility and reverence for the greater world). I advocate that people carefully and thoughtfully consider the implications of each action for all of our fellow humans as well as the entire planet.

Violence as a Manifestation of Evil

ABSTRACTViolence has been increasing the world over ever since Sigmund Freud addressed the horrors of mass violence in WWI. I analyze the various manifestations of violence by individuals killing themselves or other persons, or individuals acting as mass or serial murderers, let alone terrorist groups kidnapping, maiming, or massacring persecuted populations. Violence is first addressed in relation to aggression and theories about aggression. Both violence and aggression are related to the phenomenon of power, insufficiently addressed by Freud, who also rejected Alfred Adler’s views on aggression and power. Following Buber, the evil of violence is connected to the evil of lying, another subject about which Freud said little but which was addressed by his faithful followers Sandor Ferenczi and Sandor Feldman. Issues of aggression, power, and violence are coordinated with the role of feelings and emotions in the life of individuals, couples, groups, and masses as seen from the perspective of dramatology, a method that focuses on action and interaction in life, disorder, and therapy, and especially on enactments.

Dai-zhen’s view on manifestation of evil, and principles of ethical behavior

Dai-zhen’s view on manifestation of evil, and principles of ethical behavior

Women’s Sex-Objectification during the Matchmaking Process in Israel

According to Jewish traditional thought, there is great concern that beauty and external appearances can lead to manifestations of evil and promiscuity; this attitude is expressed in the proverb “Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain.” Women’s beauty is considered a positive phenomenon only when it is subordinated to the higher goal of finding a mate and maintaining a harmonious relationship with a husband. This article is based on findings from a qualitative study that sought to explore the way national-religious Jewish matchmakers act toward the issue of beauty. These matchmakers face a beauty dilemma as they try to comply with their male clients’ exacting and steep demands regarding the desired bride’s beauty, while at the same time they wish to adhere to this Jewish religious ethos. Twenty-five national-religious Jewish matchmakers in Israel were interviewed. Findings show that they tend to cope with this dilemma by using two complementary strategies: On one hand they try, albeit unsuccessfully, to persuade their male clients to decrease the importance they attached to the appearance of the desired bride. On the other hand, they demonstrate a kind of pragmatic acceptance and compliance with the demands of their male clients; most of them tend to advise their female clients on how to improve their outward attractiveness in accordance to generally accepted standards of beauty, in order to promote their female clients’ chances of finding a groom. In doing so, they unconsciously contribute to the perpetuation of the double standard of beauty and the sex objectification of women.