At different periods of life, the attitude towards vice changed from disgust to keen attention and secret respect. The authors united in this book – from F. Bacon to E. Fromm – have many differences. Previous options for attitudes towards vice: silence, moralizing condemnation, arrogant contempt, romanticization – are giving way to scrupulous research and the desire to understand. The culture of the 20th century is characterized by a desire to destroy the list of forbidden topics, bashful silences and “indecent questions.” They are united in the main thing: the absence of giggles, indifference or hypocritical ostentatious indignation towards vice.