Presents a philosophical meditation on Iago and the nature of evil, through the exploration of the enduring puzzle found in Shakespeare's "Othello". This book opens with a portrait of Iago, and considers the nature and moral significance of the evil that he represents. It addresses the boundaries dividing normality and pathology.

"What is evil? What are its forms? How is it motivated? These are questions of the greatest human significance and Raatzsch's treatment of them is sensitive, imaginative, and broadly based. This book brings together different lines of argument from epistemology, moral philosophy, and philosophy of mind in a highly compact and supercharged, yet fully comprehensible form. The result packs an enormous intellectual punch."--Raymond Geuss, University of Cambridge
"This original, deeply felt, clearly written, and well-argued book combines Shakespearean analysis, moral philosophy, psychology, and philosophy of literature--all in a succinct, unified, and impressive way."--Richard Eldridge, Swarthmore College

"What is evil? What are its forms? How is it motivated? These are questions of the greatest human significance and Raatzsch's treatment of them is sensitive, imaginative, and broadly based. This book brings together different lines of argument from epistemology, moral philosophy, and philosophy of mind in a highly compact and supercharged, yet fully comprehensible form. The result packs an enormous intellectual punch."-Raymond Geuss, University of Cambridge