In Out of Eden, Paul W. Kahn offers a philosophical meditation on the
problem of evil. He uses the Genesis story of the Fall as the starting
point for a profound articulation of the human condition. Kahn shows us
that evil expresses the rage of a subject who knows both that he is an
image of an infinite God and that he must die. Kahn's interpretation of
Genesis leads him to inquiries into a variety of modern forms of evil,
including slavery, torture, and genocide.
Kahn takes issue with Hannah Arendt's theory of the banality of evil,
arguing that her view is an instance of the modern world's lost capacity
to speak of evil. Psychological, social, and political accounts do not
explain evil as much as explain it away. Focusing on the existential
roots of evil rather than on the occasions for its appearance, Kahn
argues that evil originates in man's flight from death. He urges us to
see that the opposite of evil is not good, but love: while evil would
master death, love would transcend it.
Offering a unique perspective that combines political and cultural
theory, law, and philosophy, Kahn here continues his project of
advancing a political theology of modernity.