Humanity : a moral history of the twentieth century /
Glover, Jonathan,
Humanity : a moral history of the twentieth century / Jonathan Glover. - Second edition. - xxvi, 464 pages ; 20 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Pt. 1: Ethics without the moral law -- Pt. 2: The moral psychology of waging war -- Pt. 3: Tribalism -- Pt. 4: War as a trap -- Pt. 5: Belief and terror: Stalin and his heirs -- Pt. 6: The will to create mankind anew: The Nazi experiment -- Pt. 7: On the recent moral history of humanity.
The twentieth century was the most brutal in human history, featuring a litany of shameful events that includes the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the Stalinist era, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. This book looks at the politics of our times and the roots of human nature to discover why so many atrocities were perpetuated and how we can create a social environment to prevent their recurrence. Jonathan Glover finds similarities in the psychology of those who perpetuate, collaborate in, and are complicit with atrocities, uncovering some disturbing common elements--tribal hatred, blind adherence to ideology, diminished personal responsibility--as well as characteristics unique to each situation. Acknowledging that human nature has a dark and destructive side, he proposes that we encourage the development of a political and personal moral imagination that will compel us to refrain from and protest all acts of cruelty.
9780300186406
History, Modern--Moral and ethical aspects.--21st century
Ethics, Modern--21st century.
War--Moral and ethical aspects.
War--History--20th century.
Humanity--History--20th century.
Atrocities--History--20th century.
--Reading book
909.82 / GLO
Humanity : a moral history of the twentieth century / Jonathan Glover. - Second edition. - xxvi, 464 pages ; 20 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Pt. 1: Ethics without the moral law -- Pt. 2: The moral psychology of waging war -- Pt. 3: Tribalism -- Pt. 4: War as a trap -- Pt. 5: Belief and terror: Stalin and his heirs -- Pt. 6: The will to create mankind anew: The Nazi experiment -- Pt. 7: On the recent moral history of humanity.
The twentieth century was the most brutal in human history, featuring a litany of shameful events that includes the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the Stalinist era, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. This book looks at the politics of our times and the roots of human nature to discover why so many atrocities were perpetuated and how we can create a social environment to prevent their recurrence. Jonathan Glover finds similarities in the psychology of those who perpetuate, collaborate in, and are complicit with atrocities, uncovering some disturbing common elements--tribal hatred, blind adherence to ideology, diminished personal responsibility--as well as characteristics unique to each situation. Acknowledging that human nature has a dark and destructive side, he proposes that we encourage the development of a political and personal moral imagination that will compel us to refrain from and protest all acts of cruelty.
9780300186406
History, Modern--Moral and ethical aspects.--21st century
Ethics, Modern--21st century.
War--Moral and ethical aspects.
War--History--20th century.
Humanity--History--20th century.
Atrocities--History--20th century.
--Reading book
909.82 / GLO