ABSTRACT

This collection brings together new papers addressing the philosophical challenges that the concept of a Devil presents, bringing philosophical rigor to treatments of the Devil. Contributors approach the idea of the Devil from a variety of philosophical traditions, methodologies, and styles, providing a comprehensive philosophical overview that contemplates the existence, nature, and purpose of the Devil. While some papers take a classical approach to the Devil, drawing on biblical exegesis, other contributors approach the topic of the Devil from epistemological, metaphysical, phenomenological, and ethical perspectives. This volume will be relevant to researchers and scholars interested in philosophical conceptions of the Devil and related areas, such as philosophers of religion, theologians, and scholars working in philosophical theology and demonology.

chapter |18 pages

Introduction

part I|48 pages

Divergent Conceptions of the Devil

chapter 1|12 pages

Devil in the Details

Tracing the Biblical Genealogy and Origin of the Satan-Lucifer Myths

chapter 2|11 pages

Nietzsche, Satan, and the Romantics

The Devil as “Tragic Hero” in Romanticism

chapter 3|15 pages

Satan, Romantic Hero or Just Another Asshole

The Desire to be God, the Devil, and the Demonic

chapter 4|8 pages

Wormwood Gets Promoted

A Devilish Look at Higher Education

part II|50 pages

The Devil in Medieval and Modern Philosophy

chapter 5|8 pages

The Devil and St. Anselm

chapter 6|18 pages

The Secret Joke of Satan's Soul

chapter 7|11 pages

“Behold, It Is Cast into the Fire for Fuel”

Jonathan Edwards on the Usefulness of the Wicked

chapter 8|11 pages

Descartes' Demon

More Powerful and Virtuous than God?

part III|40 pages

The Devil and Epistemology

part IV|44 pages

The Devil in Moral and Social Philosophy