Daniel Little: Confronting Evil in History (video abstract)


Παρουσίαση του βιβλίου τού Daniel Little, Confronting Evil in History, Cambridge University Press (Elements in Historical Theory and Practice), ΚέιμπριτζΝέα Υόρκη, 2022 [].

Confronting Evil in History is a contribution to the philosophy of history, but it is a somewhat unusual contribution. The twentieth century witnessed the most sustained and devastating regimes of mass murder, enslavement, and degradation that the world has yet witnessed. The genocide of the Holocaust, the massive killing and degradation associated with Stalin’s war of starvation against the Ukrainian countryside (the Holodomor), and other instances of barbarous and state-initiated periods of atrocity during the century were enormous historical evils that must be confronted honestly and fully if humanity is to hope to avoid such catastrophes in the future.

That is the premise of this Elements volume. The Element poses the question: how can humanity grow from confronting this history honestly? Reflecting deeply upon the history of the Holocaust or the Holodomor seriously and honestly has the potential of changing our natures, making these crimes less likely in the future. Truthful historical inquiry is crucial to our human ability to learn from the periods of atrocity and evil in the past, and to do better in the future.

In short, this Elements volume seeks to explore the difference that the evils of the twentieth century make for both philosophy and history. The organization of the Element brings together relevant philosophical ideas about humanity with new aspects of historians’ knowledge of the evils of the twentieth century. Section 1 exposes the reader to relevant ideas about human nature, culture, and society drawn from European philosophy, as well as a brief treatment of the concept of evil. Section 2 introduces the idea of historicized humanity, reflecting the view that human culture and institutions are fundamentally the creations of human communities and traditions. Section 3 discusses new historical themes about the Holocaust, and Section 4 focuses on “lies and myths” in historical narratives about the period. Section 5 returns to the topic of the relationship between the evils of the twentieth century and the need for a transformation in philosophy in light of the genocides and totalitarianism experienced during the twentieth century. Honest historical research and reckoning are crucial for this task of self-making.

I hope you will read this Elements volume to get a better engagement with these important issues of evil, truth, history, and human identity.