Author:
Diego Fernando Barrios Andrade
Location:
Espíritu: ISSN 0014-0716, Year 72, Nº. 166, 2023, pages 321-344
Language:
Spanish
Abstract:
Banal evil is a central notion in Arendt’s thought, not without contradictory interpretations. Bernstein states in an early article that Arendt took such a notion from Jaspers and, in doing so, leads her readers to fall into the misunderstanding of making banal evil and radical evil interchangeable. Banal evil is usually understood as evil derived from the inability to think. However, it also designates a deformed conscience. The incapacity to think influences the deformation of conscience, which is caused by passion and vice, as saint Thomas points out.
Key words:
Arendt, Bernstein, Saint Thomas, banal evil