ABSTRACT
The modern age, especially in the last century and a half, has had as its hallmark what we call technical rationality. Technical rationality underlies a way of thinking and living that emphasizes the scientific-analytic mindset and the belief in technological progress. The Holocaust occurred in modern times in a culture suffused with technical rationality, and most of its activity was accomplished within organizational roles and within legitimated public policy. Evil remains only a barely accepted entry in the lexicon of the social sciences. Social scientists much prefer to describe behavior while avoiding ethically loaded or judgmental rubrics—to say nothing of what is often considered religious phraseology. In the modern age, we are greatly enamoured with the notion of progress, of the belief that civilization develops in a positive direction, with the present age at the pinnacle of human achievement. Efficient and legitimate institutions can be used for constructive or destructive purposes.
