Start Date
12-1-2012 1:30 PM
End Date
12-1-2012 3:00 PM
Description
Michael Walzer and Sheldon Wolin note the importance of “shared understandings” or an interpretation of the “historical moments when collective identity is collectively established.” These shared moments and their disparate interpretations constitute questions of political importance, particularly in post-genocidal context, since in these moments of interpretation, the present is interpreted in light of the past in an attempt to forge a more peaceful future. The attempt to create a non-violent future necessarily requires the distribution of blame, responsibility, even guilt. Hence it requires a public confrontation with philosophical questions regarding the nature of evil. At these critical junctures the nature of evil, hence responsibility has practical and enduring political importance. In this paper I examine the importance of collective understandings of evil in the attempt to move beyond a violent past. Specifically I argue that the transition from a Kantian to an Arendtian understanding of evil in the collective narrative of a post-genocidal state is an important safeguard against subsequent violence.
Post-Genocidal Cultural Narratives: Explaining Violence From Kant to Arendt
Michael Walzer and Sheldon Wolin note the importance of “shared understandings” or an interpretation of the “historical moments when collective identity is collectively established.” These shared moments and their disparate interpretations constitute questions of political importance, particularly in post-genocidal context, since in these moments of interpretation, the present is interpreted in light of the past in an attempt to forge a more peaceful future. The attempt to create a non-violent future necessarily requires the distribution of blame, responsibility, even guilt. Hence it requires a public confrontation with philosophical questions regarding the nature of evil. At these critical junctures the nature of evil, hence responsibility has practical and enduring political importance. In this paper I examine the importance of collective understandings of evil in the attempt to move beyond a violent past. Specifically I argue that the transition from a Kantian to an Arendtian understanding of evil in the collective narrative of a post-genocidal state is an important safeguard against subsequent violence.