ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, I defended an interpretation of Iago that implies that while Iago is rightly regarded as an evil character, there is no need to resort to a privative or satanic conception of him. We can make sense of Iago’s wicked character by acknowledging his virulent viciousness. There can be little doubt that Iago suffers from especially grave moral vices including cruelty and misanthropy, and nothing about his character suggests that he is at all repentant or the least bit ambivalent about his will. I am persuaded that this is enough to warrant regarding Iago as evil, but some philosophers have suggested that there is more to his character than I have let on. Recall Colin McGinn’s characterization of Iago:
We are not dealing here with your average rogue, cheat, or traitor – someone with something to gain from his misdeeds. We are concerned with individuals with no other purpose than that of harm and destruction – those who find pleasure in the pain of others for its own sake. And the question is how such people are to be understood.1
