Beyond Good and Evil
The Independent has an interesting discussion going on around an essay by John Gray (London School of Economics Professor) on the differences between European and American perceptions of terrorism. In particular, Professor Gray makes an excellent point about why President Bush's use of the term "evil" is so problematic for Europeans (and many Americans). It's pretty obvious for anyone with any understanding of Western philosophy, but Liberal Arts education in the United States is in such a poor state these days that most people have no framework in which to understand the debate. Americans are quick to assume for themselves an unquestioned mantle of goodness, peg our enemies as "evil" and castigate anyone who disagrees as a "shifty, morally-relativistic wimp." As Professor Gray very clearly explains, it's not quite so simple.
7:44:41 AM 
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