Cruelty: A Book about Us

Cruelty is such a ubiquitous and at the same time disturbing phenomenon that we take for granted that we understand what it is, and how it impacts the ways in which we think about our humanity as a moral condition--how we understand our moral significance. Cruelty: A Book About Us offers an accessible interrogation of cruelty and humanity, and, most critically, it provides a groundwork for us to raise questions collectively; it is an invitation for us all to join in the dialogue. Through academic studies, literary works, and’ personal stories and observations, this book provokes deeper insights into why cruel acts trouble our usual ways of articulating and addressing wrongness. Mining interdisciplinary sources, it excavates what we may not know we don’t know and guides us in conversations about this profoundly evocative and often uneasy subject.

Maggie Schein is a scholar, author, and educator, serving recently as the Mellon Foundation Writer in Residence, Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, DePauw University. She is also the author of Lost Cantos of the Ouroboros Caves and has worked as a character assessment analyst for law enforcement and other institutions.