Hannah Arendt

The Relationship between “Radical evil” and “The Banality of Evil” From “radical evil” to “the banality of evil”, the understanding from Arendt of totalitarianism and contemporary society does not transform ultimately, but it is going further constantly. If the key of the “radical evil” is to disclose the formation of the totalitarian system, the propaganda of the bureaucracy, the operation of the organization and the extreme society which makes people become banal, “the banality of evil” should…

Plato more explicitly says that no person can challenge another’s position or role in the Kallipolis because if someone is suited to the role of ruling or shows leadership, no individual can interfere in their duty to do so (Popper, 1962) and if for any reason these roles are conflated or practised by the wrong individual than this will have dangerous consequences for society (Kallipolis). Not only is this approach extremely problematic because it completely diminishes he idea of any meritocracy…

Safura Aliyeva Written Assignment 1 29.09.2015 What is the relationship between power and liberty according to Arendt? According to Hannah Arendt, power is generated from the ability that people act collectively to influence and persuade others in social affairs. Liberty means liberty, when it is far away from oppression, bondage, poverty, biological necessity, and tyranny, overall from violence. Power and liberty are interrelated terms and this interrelation comes from the very beginning.…

are both distinctly. The core of Hannah Arendt’s theory of organized remembrance requires an element of interpretation on behalf of the individual through reflection. For remembrance at once, requires the exercise of thinking – ‘thinking which, withdrawal from the world of appearances is the only essential precondition’ (Arendt, 1978: 78). Furthermore, thinking, as reflection ‘always implies remembrance; every thought is strictly speaking an afterthought’ (Arendt, 1978: 78). And ‘poetry whose…

Totalitarianism (Hannah Arendt Views On Totalitarianism Government) Totalitarian is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete service to the state. This type of government is run by a dictator that controls and has immese power over the state and the people under him. “A totalitarian society is usually ran by a dictator, and there is little to no freedom to the people. In totalitarism, the government controls almost every aspect of life.” (Wolin) Very…

Hannah Arendt really expressed in this essay that she felt totalitarianism was total domination. This story really shows the problems and issues that come with total domination compared to Arendt's theory of totalitarianism; comparing Arendt’s point of view on totalitarianism and total domination with the Nazi totalitarian regime and what they did to the Jewish people during the war. To me it shows that Arendt did not have a clear understanding on what totalitarianism actually was and what it…

In The Human Condition, philosopher and political thinker Hannah Arendt argues that the vita activa, or “active life,” is the fundamental condition of human existence. The human condition as described by Hannah Arendt is described into three fundamental activities. These are called Labor, Work and Action. To define action one must first understand what ‘labor’ is and what ‘work’ is and how these two are different from each other. Labor is that activity which corresponds to the biological…

The week’s reading is The Origins of Totalitarian by Hannah Arendt. In this reading, she talks about the origins of a totalitarian state and how they, the power holder, strive for control. Some of the ways the power holders hold power is through the gullibility of the people being ruled and that the fear of their “freedom” being taken. From this reading, there were some questions that I had about it ranging from the rationale to her thinking to the freedoms that each citizen's had under a…

figure of refusal. To fit the label of a figure of refusal, a person's refusal must claim legitimacy. In her essay "Civil Disobedience," Hannah Arendt explores the concept of the need of a refusal. While she does not specifically mention the legitimacy of a refusal, her arguments provide support for the idea that the need of a refusal adds to its legitimacy. Arendt says that "Civil disobedience arises when a significant number of citizens have become convinced ... that the normal channels of…

Arendt addresses the question of language in The Human Condition: a 1958 work that, through its insightful social and political commentaries, “has proved both timeless and perpetually timely.” “The web of human relationships,” starts Arendt, “is sustained by communicative interaction.” She continues, “In acting and speaking, men show who they are, reveal actively their…