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This book adds considerably to the dimensions of our consciousness by informing us of the many facets of the concepts of evil which for most of us would not be at all evident. In her introduction, Marie Coleman Nelson cogently states, “Neither spiritual directives nor rational-ethical systems have succeeded in immunizing human beings against powerful inducements to destroy or to conspire in their own destruction. The more human beings learn about themselves and their universe, the more intent they seem to do away with both” (p. 11). The book is divided into three parts: Models and Origins, Therapeutic Encounters and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. It begins with Civilized Models of Evil by Vytautas Kavolis. Kavolis provides an interesting comparison of mythological, historical and religious origins of the concept of evil. He shows that the concept of evil comes from a process of rebellion against God's will, which is a basic model for moral good.
George Mora in “Reification of Evil: Witchcraft, Heresy, and the Scapegoat,” begins by stating that the concept of evil has been an intrinsic aspect of human existence from earliest times. He shows how women and minorities, such as Huguenots, Jews, and the mentally ill, can become victims of religious and racial persecution based upon pathological archaic distortions and projections.
E. Mansell Pattisen in “Psychoanalysis and the Concept of Evil,” argues that there are subtle, but profound shifts in our national attitudes from social to personal goals and from moral to biological goals. He questions Philip Rieff's contention that psychoanalysis is a science of morals. Pattisen believes that psychoanalytic theories of morality focusing mainly on superego dynamics