Evil and Givenness: The Thanatonic Phenomenon

The Thanatonic Phenomenon develops a phenomenology that describes evil in its conceptual integrity, focusing on the thanatonic as that phenomenality proper to evil. Brian W. Becker identifies four figures of this parasitic givenness: trauma, evil eye, foreign-body, and abject, which beckon the destruction of our lifeworld and diminish the self who encounters them. Upon losing the will to bear the excess of saturated phenomena, the receding of horizons, and the loss of singularity, the impoverished self misrecognizes itself in a manner that resembles the metaphysical ego and becomes a vector for retransmitting the thanatonics suffering unto others.

Format: Hardback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 23 February 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

Here is the rephrased text:
Evil and Givenness: The Thanatonic Phenomenon presents a phenomenology that delves into the intricate nature of evil, offering a comprehensive and rigorous description of its conceptual essence. This book focuses on the thanatonic as the specific phenomenality inherent to evil, distinct in its mode of givenness and the ways it manifests itself. While situated within a phenomenology of givenness, as articulated by Jean-Luc Marion, the thanatonic stands apart from saturated phenomena by adopting a parasitic nature. Brian W. Becker identifies four figures that exemplify this parasitic givenness: trauma, the evil eye, foreign bodies, and abjectness. Each of these figures represents a dimension of the thanatonic, mirroring the four figures of the saturated phenomenon. Similar to the four horsemen who herald the impending destruction of the world, these figures of the thanatonic beckon the demise of our lifeworld, diminishing the self that encounters them. As the will to bear the excess of saturated phenomena dissipates, horizons recede, and singularity fades, this impoverished self misrecognizes itself, resembling the metaphysical ego. In this distorted self-perception, it becomes a conduit for retransmitting the suffering of the thanatonics to others.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 227 x 161 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793651167