Evil: A Rhetorical Artefact and Conceptual Inertia

This academic essay by language philosopher Bry Willis proposes a deflationary account of evil, arguing that the term is merely a rhetorical artefact that survived the Enlightenment by retaining the conceptual structure of theological demonology without its explicit metaphysical substance. The author contends that the word functions primarily as a cognitive shortcut, replacing the difficult work of structural or psychological analysis with an instant, pseudo-explanation for overwhelming atrocities. According to the essay, this persistence reflects motivated conceptual inertia, as the term efficiently compresses complexity, licenses retributive responses, and serves as a moral shibboleth for stabilizing group boundaries. Willis stresses that by treating perpetrators as marionettes animated by an occult force, the vocabulary of evil strategically obscures the mundane, traceable mechanisms that produce extreme harm. Ultimately, the essay calls for observers to abandon this theatrical vocabulary in favour of a more precise moral cartography focused on understanding and prevention.