Rethinking the "problem of evil" with Hannah Arendt and Grace Jantzen
pp. 17-32
in: Pamela S. Anderson (ed), New topics in feminist philosophy of religion, Berlin, Springer, 2010Abstract
Discussions of the "problem of evil" in mainstream philosophy of religion publications have been loath to engage with Auschwitz as a symbol of the betrayal of human dignity. At the same time they have not investigated the problem of violence against women. In this chapter I propose to investigate initially, with reference to the work of Hannah Arendt and also of Grace Jantzen, the vital subject of unmerited violence and its relation to the "problem of evil." Then, in an even more concentrated mode, with a specific focus on the work of Jantzen alone, I will examine the issue of violence against women. In so doing, I hope to challenge the extremely restricted nature of the traditional conceptions of evil and its treatment.
