Description
Book SynopsisPresents a philosophical meditation on Iago and the nature of evil, through the exploration of the enduring puzzle found in Shakespeare's "Othello". This book opens with a portrait of Iago, and considers the nature and moral significance of the evil that he represents. It addresses the boundaries dividing normality and pathology.
Trade Review"What is evil? What are its forms? How is it motivated? These are questions of the greatest human significance and Raatzsch's treatment of them is sensitive, imaginative, and broadly based. This book brings together different lines of argument from epistemology, moral philosophy, and philosophy of mind in a highly compact and supercharged, yet fully comprehensible form. The result packs an enormous intellectual punch."
—Raymond Geuss, University of Cambridge"This original, deeply felt, clearly written, and well-argued book combines Shakespearean analysis, moral philosophy, psychology, and philosophy of literature—all in a succinct, unified, and impressive way."
—Richard Eldridge, Swarthmore CollegeTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Chapter One: The Concept of Iago 11 1.1 The Origin of the Concept 11 1.2 Acting without a Motive? 14 1.3 Iago's Mode of Being and the Idea of a Panopticon 30 Chapter Two: Apologia for Iago 77 2.1 Defense, Justification, and Understanding 77 2.2 Defending Iago 91 2.3 Why Iago Perishes, and What His Downfall Means 103 Acknowledgments 109 Index 111
