Ethics During and After the Holocaust : In the Shadow of Birkenau

Questions shape the Holocaust's legacy. 'What happened to ethics during the Holocaust? What should ethics be, and what can it do after the Holocaust?' loom large among them. Absent the overriding or moral sensibilities, if not the collapse or collaboration of ethical traditions, the Holocaust could not have happened. Its devastation may have deepened conviction that there is a crucial difference between right and wrong; its destruction may have renewed awareness about the importance of ethical standards and conduct. But Birkenau, the main killing center at Auschwitz, also continues to cast a disturbing shadow over basic beliefs concerning right and wrong, human rights, and the hope that human beings will learn from the past. This book explores those realities and the issues they contain. It does so not to discourage but to encourage, not to deepen darkness and despair but to face those realities honestly and in a way that can make post-Holocaust ethics more credible and realistic. The book's thesis is that nothing human, natural or divine guarantees respect for the ethical values and commitments that are most needed in contemporary human existence, but nothing is more important than our commitment to defend them, for they remain as fundamental as they are fragile, as precious as they are endangered.

Absent the overriding or moral sensibilities, if not the collapse or collaboration of ethical traditions, the Holocaust could not have happened. Its devastation may have deepened conviction that there is a crucial difference between right and wrong; its destruction may have renewed awareness about the importance of ethical standards and conduct. But Birkenau, the main killing center at Auschwitz, also continues to cast a disturbing shadow over basic beliefs concerning right and wrong, human rights, and the hope that human beings will learn from the past. This book explores those realities and the issues they contain. It does so not to discourage but to encourage, not to deepen darkness and despair but to face those realities honestly and in a way that can make post-Holocaust ethics more credible and realistic. The book's thesis is that nothing human,
natural or divine guarantees respect for the ethical values and commitments that are most needed in contemporary human existence, but nothing is more important than our commitment to defend them, for they remain as fundamental as they are fragile, as precious as they are endangered.

Absent the overriding or moral sensibilities, if not the collapse or collaboration of ethical traditions, the Holocaust could not have happened. Its devastation may have deepened conviction that there is a crucial difference between right and wrong; its destruction may have renewed awareness about the importance of ethical standards and conduct. But Birkenau, the main killing center at Auschwitz, also continues to cast a disturbing shadow over basic beliefs concerning right and wrong, human rights, and the hope that human beings will learn from the past. This book explores those realities and the issues they contain. It does so not to discourage but to encourage, not to deepen darkness and despair but to face those realities honestly and in a way that can make post-Holocaust ethics more credible and realistic. The book's thesis is that nothing human,
natural or divine guarantees respect for the ethical values and commitments that are most needed in contemporary human existence, but nothing is more important than our commitment to defend them, for they remain as fundamental as they are fragile, as precious as they are endangered. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Prologue: Only the Darkness?......Page 9 1 The Philosopher's Project......Page 16 2 Why Study the Holocaust?......Page 40 3 Handle with Care......Page 52 4 Raul Hilberg's Ethics......Page 69 5 Gray Zones and Double-Binds: Holocaust Challenges to Ethics......Page 90 6 Post-Holocaust Restitution of a Different Kind......Page 113 7 Duped by Morality?......Page 130 8 The Ethics of Forgiveness......Page 139 9 The Ethics of Prayer......Page 152 10 The Holocaust, Genocide, and the "Logic" of Racism......Page 163 11 Will Genocide Ever End?......Page 174 12 The Holocaust and the Common Good......Page 187 Epilogue: Standing Here......Page 201 Notes......Page 203 Select Bibliography......Page 232 B......Page 235 F......Page 236 I......Page 237 N......Page 238 S......Page 239 Z......Page 240 Questions shape the Holocaust's legacy, 'What happened to ethics?' looms large among them. The Holocaust may have renewed awareness about the importance of ethical standards and conduct, but Auschwitz continues to cast its shadow over basic beliefs concerning right and wrong, human rights, and the hope that human beings will learn from the past. We human beings are responsible for evil twice over: we produce it; we must deal with it. First and foremost, the Holocaust shows that nothing good should be taken for granted "The book's thesis is that nothing human, natural or divine guarantees respect for the ethical values and commitments that are most needed in contemporary human existence, but nothing is more important than our commitment to defend them, for they remain as fundamental as they are fragile, as precious as they are endangered."--Jacket.