The Devil Next Door

Toward a Literary and Psychological Definition of Human Evil
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-90-420-3872-1
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 87, 212 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 360 g

Reihe: At the Interface / Probing the Boundaries

Rather than theoretical or abstract, above all else, this monograph endeavors to serve as a practical guide, a handbook for helping us navigate a dark terrain. It neither presumes to examine the sources of evil nor suggest radical cures. These pages strive only to continue the process of naming the signs of individual evil that we might recognize these persons before they inflict even more damage. Scott Peck says it best. “If evil were easy to recognize, identify, and manage, there would be no need for this book.” Of course, he was referring to his own pioneering treatise; given the realities of our day, the need remains as great as ever.

Vera B. Profit is Professor of German and Comparative Literature, University of Notre Dame.
Previous monographs include: Interpretations of Iwan Goll’s late Poetry with a comprehensive and annotated Bibliography of the Writings by and about Iwan Goll, Ein Porträt meiner Selbst: Karl Krolow’s Autobiographical Poems (1945-1958) and Their French Sources, Menschlich: Gespräche mit Karl Krolow. She earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (French and German) at the University of Rochester, NY, and spent two years studying abroad: one at the University of Vienna, the other at the Sorbonne.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturpsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturkritik: Hermeneutik und Interpretation
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Sozialpsychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
Foreword

Book One: Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Der Verdacht
Chapter One: Victimization
Chapters Two and Three: Failure to Respect the Autonomy of Others and Their Depersonalization
Chapter Four: Narcissism
Chapter Five: Abuse of Power
Chapter Six: Scapegoating
Chapter Seven: Lying
Chapter Eight: Refusal to Heed Criticism

Book Two: Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray
Chapter One: Victimization
Chapters Two and Three: Failure to Respect the Autonomy of Others and Their Depersonalization
Chapter Four: Narcissism
Chapter Five: Abuse of Power
Chapter Six: Scapegoating
Chapter Seven: Lying
Chapter Eight: Refusal to Heed Criticism

Afterword
Epilogue: A Literary and Psychological Paradigm of Group Evil: Max Frisch’s Andorra

Bibliography
Previous Publications

Über Autor(innen)

Vera B. Profit is Professor of German and Comparative Literature, University of Notre Dame. Previous monographs include: Interpretations of Iwan Goll’s late Poetry with a comprehensive and annotated Bibliography of the Writings by and about Iwan Goll, Ein Porträt meiner Selbst: Karl Krolow’s Autobiographical Poems (1945-1958) and Their French Sources, and Menschlich: Gespräche mit Karl Krolow. She earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (French and German) at the University of Rochester, NY, and spent two years studying abroad: one at the University of Vienna, the other at the Sorbonne.