ponerology

noun

Etymology: From Ancient Greek πονηρός (ponērós, “grievous, knavish”) + -ology; compare Ancient Greek πονηρολογίᾱ (ponērologíā, “bad reasoning”).

1. The study of evil.

   “Christian ponerology is divided into two leading sections, that of sin or the bad participating in guilt, and that of death or the bad which has participated in the same.”

   “The end for which God created the world is not an impotent thought, but an earnest one, incessantly striving to become actual in the world; for which reason it cannot be thwarted by actual sin, which is to be treated of in ethical ponerology.”