Genocide and Human Rights: A Philosophical Guide

by J. Roth

Overview

Genocide is evil or nothing could be. It raises a host of questions about humanity, rights, justice, and reality, which are key areas of concern for philosophy. Strangely, however, philosophers have tended to ignore genocide. Even more problematic, philosophy and philosophers bear more responsibility for genocide than they have usually admitted. In Genocide and Human Rights: A Philosophical Guide, an international group of twenty-five contemporary philosophers work to correct those deficiencies by showing how philosophy can and should respond to genocide, particularly in ways that defend human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403935489
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	07/24/2005
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

ROBERT BERNASCONI Moss Professor of Philosophy, University of Memphis, USA
CLAUDIA CARD Emma Goldman Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, USA
STEPHEN T. DAVIS Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College, USA
EMMANUEL C. EZE Associate Professor of Philosophy, DePaul University, USA
RAIMOND GAITA Professor of Moral Philosophy, King's College University of London and Professor of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University, AUSTRALIA
NORMAN GERAS Professor Emeritus, Department of Government, University of Manchester, UK
ROGER S. GOTTLIEB Professor of Philosophy, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, UK
LEONARD GROB Co-founder of the biennial Pastora Goldner Holocaust Symposium, Professor of Philosophy, Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA
PATRICK HAYDEN Lecturer in Political Theory, Victoria University of Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
DAVID H. JONES Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, College of William and Mary, USA
BEREL LANG Professor of Humanities, Trinity College, Connecticut, USA
SANDER H. LEE Professor of Philosophy, Keene State College, USA
MICHAEL MACK Sesqui Fellow, 2004-07, University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA
MICHAEL L. MORGAN Chancellor's Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
DAVID PATTERSON Bornblum Chair of Excellence in Judaic Studies, University of Memphis, USA
D. Z. PHILLIPS Danforth Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Claremont Graduate University and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Rush Rhees Professor Emeritus, University of Wales, Swansea, UK
PAUL SANTILLI Professor of Philosophy, Siena College, USA
THOMAS W. SIMON Professor of Philosophy, Illinois State University, USA
FREDERICK E. SONTAG Robert C. Denison Professor of Philosophy, Pomona College, USA
COLIN TATZ Founder and Director, Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
LAURENCE M. THOMAS Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, Maxwell School in Syracuse University, USA
JAMES R. WATSON Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University, New Orleans, USA
PAUL WOODRUFF Darrell K. Royal Professor in Ethics and American Society, Department of Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin, USA
EDITH WYSCHOGROD J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Philosophy Emerita, Rice University, USA

Table of Contents

Prologue and Acknowledgments: Philosophy and Genocide; J.K.Roth Notes on Contributors PART I: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: HOW DOES GENOCIDE AFFECT PHILOSOPHY? The Evil in Genocide; B.Lang Rights, Morality, and Faith in the Light of the Holocaust; S.Lee How Should Genocide Affect Philosophy?; F.Sontag Genocide, Despair, and Religious Hope: An Essay on Human Nature; S.T.Davis The Holocaust and Language; D.Z.Phillips Genocide, Evil, and Injustice: Competing Hells; T.W.Simon PART II: INNOCENT OR GUILTY? PHILOSOPHY'S INVOLVEMENT IN GENOCIDE The Doctorhood of Genocide; C.Tatz The Philosophical Warrant for Genocide; D.Patterson The Rational Constitution of Evil: Reflections on Franz Baermann Steiner's Critique of Philosophy; M.Mack Epistemic Conditions for Genocide; E.C.Eze Genocide and the Totalizing Philosopher; L.Grob Why Do the Happy Inhabitants of Tahiti Bother to Exist at All?; R.Bernasconi PART III: WILL GENOCIDE EVER END? GENOCIDE'S CHALLENGE TO PHILOSOPHY Refocusing Genocide: A Philosophical Responsibility; R.Gaita Genocide and Crimes against Humanity; N.Geras Innocence, Genocide, and Suicide Bombings; L.M.Thomas Beyond the Affectations of Philosophy; J.R.Watson The Warring Logics of Genocide; E.Wyschogrod Philosophy's Obligation to the Human Being in the Aftermath of Genocide; P.C.Santilli PART IV: RESISTANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: PHILOSOPHY'S RESPONSE TO GENOCIDE Genocide and Social Death; C.Card Genocide and the 'Logic' of Racism; J.K.Roth The Right to Life, Genocide, and the Problem of Bystander States; D.H.Jones Repudiating Inhumanity: Cosmopolitan Justice and the Obligation to Prosecute Human Rights Atrocities; P.Hayden 'The Human Material Is Too Weak'; R.S.Gottlieb Virtue Ethics, Mass Killing, and Hatred; P.Woodruff Shame, the Holocaust, and Dark Times; M.L.Morgan Epilogue: 'After? . . . Meaning what?'; J.K.Roth Select Bibliography About the Editor and Contributors Index

Editorial Reviews

'Although it is often said that philosophers have nothing important to say about genocide, the essays in this book prove otherwise. The topic is covered from numerous points of view and always with care. One can only hope that by gaining a better understanding of how evil of this magnitude is possible, we will be in a better position to stop it from happening again.' - Kenneth Seeskin,

Professor of Philosophy, Northwestern University, USA

'John K. Roth's Genocide and Human Rights makes a significant contribution to the philosophical study of genocide. Although most contributors to this volume are philosphers from the analytic tradition, many are open to, and directly invoke the work of, continental thinkers. This inclusive approach is welcome... The result is a rich and conceptually illuminating discussion that will no doubt stimulate further philosophical reflection on genocide and other forms of mass violence.' - Journal of Genocide Research

From the Publisher