Wolfgang Sofsky's 'Le livre des vices' Examines Evil's Everyday Roots

Sociologist Wolfgang Sofsky's 'Le livre des vices' (Circé) argues that the concept of vice has become obsolete due to a contemporary angelism that frames evil as anomie or perverse pathos, thereby absolving individuals of responsibility. Drawing on Mantegna's allegory 'Minerva Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue,' Sofsky moves away from Christian notions of sin toward a mythological tradition where vices represent a descent into bestiality—satyrs, centaurs, sirens—yet insists these are the most common expressions of humanity. The worst evil, he contends, stems from ordinary failings: indifference, vulgarity, negligence, blindness, laziness, cowardice. The book proposes a new typology of vices aimed at defending threatened freedom while abandoning any hope of moral improvement. Presented as a gallery of portraits, the descriptions are often humorous, depicting typical contemporary behaviors and showing how each vice spawns others. The series culminates in the portrait of the torturer, embodying the vice of Cruelty, in a damning account of evil's collective historical forms. The essay was reviewed by Claire Margat.