Desperately Wicked

<P>What is the human heart like? Theologians and philosophers have attempted to address this question not just in the abstract but concretely in personal as well as social and political dimensions. Patrick Downey explores the biblical writings of Genesis and the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah the Greek tragedies Plato Aristotle and political philosophers--such as Rousseau Hobbes Nietzsche and René Girard--to seek answers to this profound question.Recognizing our resistance to know the truth about our own hearts Downey calls his readers to join with these thinkers in the search for truth and serious self-reflection. Not for the faint of heart this book courageously addresses the most foundational question of our existence as individuals in community. What is the nature of the human heart and can we will we know it?</P>