Description
Book SynopsisThis book introduces the first sustained analysis of the idea that the Holocaust constitutes a tension between moral complexity and moral enormity. The author examines those tensions and suggests novel ways for how we may come to understand the moral landscape of the Holocaust.
Trade ReviewMoral Complexity and the Holocaust is the first sustained philosophical treatment of the morality of the Jewish Holocaust that brings together the somewhat paradoxical aspects of enormity and complexity...It is important reading for all those who are struggling to find ways to overcome simplistic understandings of evil. -- Peta Bowden, chair of philosophy in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Murdoch University, Western Australia
Of special interest is the book's appendix offering eyewitness testimonies of a number of Holocaust survivors—an unusual feature in a scholarly, academic tome...Recommended. * CHOICE, September 2009 *
Beginning with the detailed investigations of Christopher Browning, Fellman explores the complexityof moral decision making in the context of Nazi rule and the Holocaust. By showing that individuals were caught in a complicated "weave" of responsibilities, luck and experience, Fellman challenges our often facile judgment of ordinary individuals caught in such an extraordinary situation. This book is meant to relate not only to Nazi Germany, but to look beyond the Holocaust to the larger issues of responsibility, integrity and morality as these play out in people's lives in the real world. -- Peter J. Haas, Abba Hillel Silver Professor of Jewish Studies Chair and director of the Department of Religious Studies, the Samuel Rosenthal
Table of ContentsPart 1 Table of Contents Part 2 Acknowledgments Part 3 Chapter 1: A Topography of Moral Complexity Part 4 Chapter 2: Ordinary People in Extra-Ordinary Situations Part 5 Chapter 3: Dimensions of Moral Complexity Part 6 Chapter 4: Expanding on the Idea of a Weave of Responsibility Part 7 Chapter 5: Luck in Moral Experience Part 8 Chapter 6: Borderlines of Responsibility Part 9 Chapter 7: Listening to the Holocaust Part 10 Appendix; Bibliography
