Genocide
The Act As Idea
1st Edition
Published on 24. August 2016
224 pages
978-0-8122-9364-7 (ISBN)
Description
The term "genocide"-"group killing"-which first appeared in Raphael Lemkin's 1944 book, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, had by 1948 established itself in international law through the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Since then the charge of genocide has been both widely applied but also contested. In Genocide: The Act as Idea, Berel Lang examines and illuminates the concept of genocide, at once articulating difficulties in its definition and proposing solutions to them. In his analysis, Lang explores the relation of genocide to group identity, individual and corporate moral responsibility, the concept of individual and group intentions, and the concept of evil more generally.
The idea of genocide, Lang argues, represents a notable advance in the history of political and ethical thought which proposed alternatives to it, like "crimes against humanity," fail to take into account.
The idea of genocide, Lang argues, represents a notable advance in the history of political and ethical thought which proposed alternatives to it, like "crimes against humanity," fail to take into account.
Reviews / Votes
"Even after all that has already been said, both by himself and others, Berel Lang offers an original analysis of the historical phenomenon (genocide) and of the concept ('genocide'). Lang disarms his opponents with an effortlessness that is at once engaging and endearing, the work of a philosopher, historian, and rhetorician very much in his prime. This is a work of conceptual history of the highest order." (Reviews in Religion and Theology) "What distinguishes Berel Lang's work is its rare combination of philosophical sophistication and nuance coupled with what can only be called moral sensitivity." (Michael L. Morgan, University of Toronto)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Pennsylvania
United States
Target group
College/higher education
File size
1,37 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-8122-9364-7 (9780812293647)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
12/2016
University of Pennsylvania Press
€28.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
Berel Lang, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the State University of New York, Albany, is the author among other books of Act and Idea in the Nazi Genocide and, in 2013, Primo Levi: The Matter of a Life.
Content
Preface
The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
PART I: BETWEEN GENOCIDE AND "GENOCIDE"'
1. The Evil in Genocide
2. Genocide and Comparative Evil: Counting Victims, Numbers, Degrees
3. Disputing ''Genocide'': Issues of Uniqueness and Group-Identity
4. The Pushback and Its Search for a Replacement
PART II: GENOCIDE AS PAST AND PRESENCE
5. "Genocide'' and ''Holocaust'': Language as History
6. Raphael Lemkin, Unsung Hero: Reparation
7. From Genocide to Group-Rights
8. Arendt on the Evil in Genocide: Banality's Depths
9. Genocide-Denial
AfterWords
Bibliographical Notes
Index
The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
PART I: BETWEEN GENOCIDE AND "GENOCIDE"'
1. The Evil in Genocide
2. Genocide and Comparative Evil: Counting Victims, Numbers, Degrees
3. Disputing ''Genocide'': Issues of Uniqueness and Group-Identity
4. The Pushback and Its Search for a Replacement
PART II: GENOCIDE AS PAST AND PRESENCE
5. "Genocide'' and ''Holocaust'': Language as History
6. Raphael Lemkin, Unsung Hero: Reparation
7. From Genocide to Group-Rights
8. Arendt on the Evil in Genocide: Banality's Depths
9. Genocide-Denial
AfterWords
Bibliographical Notes
Index
