ABSTRACT
This chapter describes my investigation into making more sense of what is evil and what is not. Looking at the etymology of the word was an efficient starting point. The works of several writers who have tackled explaining the nature of evil will be summarized such as: J.B. Russell, C.G. Jung, Boethius, Scott Peck, Richard Tarnas, Edward Edinger, James Hillman, and others. It was also important to look beyond Western thinking regarding the nature of evil and to investigate more universal and diverse ideas about what is perceived as evil. Thus, writings from Buddhism, Islam, Hindu, Mesoamerica, and African texts are explored.
