Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The concept of evil has been a subject of philosophical reflection throughout the history of Philosophy. Hannah Arendt, in her work Eichmann in Jerusalem (1999), introduced the term “banality of evil”, suggesting that evil can manifest even in seemingly ordinary, everyday situations. Arendt's observation implies that individuals can act against their own moral values without necessarily being driven by hatred or any other extreme emotion. Conversely, Heidegger explored the ontological notion of "care" in his work Being and Time (1927), describing how human beings engage with the world. Considering these two concepts, this article aims to explore Heidegger's ontological notion of care as a foundational discussion for the banality of evil. The adopted method involves developing an analytical-conceptual approach to the two concepts through a review of specialized literature, while preserving their unique characteristics. From this exploration, we intend to conclude that the banality of evil, precisely because it does not involve directly moral consequences, can be interpreted considering the inauthentic mode of being of Dasein in its care.
Source: Revista Aurora
Institution: Universidade Católica Dom Bosco
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409726800