From Radical Evil to the Question of Justice:

Jean-Luc Nancy and Paul Ricœur

Abstract

The wars and unprecedented violence of recent years, not only against people but also against the natural environment, have created such a strong sense of injustice that it has become clear that the previous world, which provided for more or less peaceful coexistence, is no longer valid. It is, therefore, important to consider the question of justice in a much more general way, going beyond politics and law, in the narrow sense, to the question of human existence and its relationship to the world and other people. Drawing on the interpretations of French philosophers Jean-Luc Nancy and Paul Ricœur, this article explores the ontological implications of the evil done and evil endured (action and suffering). It proposes the perspectives of the ontology of freedom and the ontology of the body, which allows us to think about responsibility and justice when a relationship with positive law is complicated, even discredited.