The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah ArendtInterpreting the work of one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt rereads Arendt's political philosophy in light of newly gained insights into the historico-cultural background of her work. Arguing against the standard interpretation of Hannah Arendt as an anti-modernist lover of the Greek polis, author Seyla Benhabib contends that Arendt's thought emerges out of a double legacy: German Existenz philosophy, particularly the thought of Martin Heidegger, and her experiences as a German-Jewess in the age of totalitarianism. This important volume reconsiders Arendt's theory of modernity, her concept of the public sphere, her distinction between the social and the political, her theory of totalitarianism, and her critique of the modern nation state, including her life long involvement with Jewish and Israeli politics. |
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Page xiv
... activity through which objects are made disposable for human purposes as well as forms of aesthetic activity , moral and political interaction do not receive any special ontological treatment in his system . By contrast , Hannah Arendt ...
... activity through which objects are made disposable for human purposes as well as forms of aesthetic activity , moral and political interaction do not receive any special ontological treatment in his system . By contrast , Hannah Arendt ...
Page xv
... activity is the end , in others , the end is in some product beyond the activity . In cases where the end lies beyond the action the product is naturally supe- rior to the activity . " ( As quoted in Villa , p . 21. ) For Aristotle ...
... activity is the end , in others , the end is in some product beyond the activity . In cases where the end lies beyond the action the product is naturally supe- rior to the activity . " ( As quoted in Villa , p . 21. ) For Aristotle ...
Page xvi
... activities which flow from a firm moral disposition and which have a clear moral good as their purpose are ends - in - themselves . If , however , one re- jects Aristotle's teaching of the virtues , there is very little sense left to ...
... activities which flow from a firm moral disposition and which have a clear moral good as their purpose are ends - in - themselves . If , however , one re- jects Aristotle's teaching of the virtues , there is very little sense left to ...
Page xxxiv
... activity tradi- tionally has been concentrated , and thus reproduces the deficiencies of con- ventional universalistic theories ? Yet , at the same time , has not their relative confinement to this private sphere , where the human ...
... activity tradi- tionally has been concentrated , and thus reproduces the deficiencies of con- ventional universalistic theories ? Yet , at the same time , has not their relative confinement to this private sphere , where the human ...
Page xl
... activity and bureaucratic domination . If we read Hannah Arendt from her beginnings , though , we see that this picture of modern society , with its contradictions and tensions , is a caricature con- tradicted by her own far more ...
... activity and bureaucratic domination . If we read Hannah Arendt from her beginnings , though , we see that this picture of modern society , with its contradictions and tensions , is a caricature con- tradicted by her own far more ...
Contents
The Pariah and Her Shadow Hannah Arendts Biography of Rahel Varnhagen | 1 |
Rahel Levin Varnhagens Quest for the World | 5 |
The Salons as Female Public Sphere | 14 |
The Rise of the Social | 22 |
Jewish Politics and German Existenz Philosophy The Sources of Hannah Arendts Thought | 35 |
What Is Existenz Philosophy? | 47 |
The Concept of the World in Martin Heideggers Being and Time | 51 |
The Destruction of the Public Sphere and the Emergence of Totalitarianism | 62 |
Aristotle Arendt and Heidegger | 114 |
The Art of Making and Subverting Distinctions With Arendt Contra Arendt | 123 |
The Continuing Struggle With Karl Marx | 130 |
An Untenable Divide | 138 |
From the Problem of Judgment to the Public Sphere Rethinking Hannah Arendts Political Theory | 172 |
Rereading Eichmann in Jerusalem | 173 |
Judgment in Kants Moral Philosophy and Arendts Reappropriation | 185 |
The Missing Normative Foundations of Arendtian Politics | 193 |
Methodological and Historiographic Puzzles of Arendts Origins of Totalitarianism | 63 |
EmpiricalAnalytical Aspects of Arendts Theory of Totalitarianism | 69 |
Imperialism and the End of the Rights of Man | 75 |
Imperialism and the Dilemmas of the Modern NationState | 77 |
The Politics of Memory and the Morality of Historiography | 86 |
The Theorist as Storyteller | 91 |
The Dialogue With Martin Heidegger Arendts Ontology of The Human Condition | 102 |
Plurality the World and the Solipsism of Heideggers Ontology | 104 |
Action Narrative and the Web of Stories | 107 |
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Common terms and phrases
activity American analysis anti-Semitism Arendt writes Arendt-Jaspers Arendt's theory Arendt's thought Arendtian Aristotle become Benhabib century chapter concept concern constitute contemporary context critical critique cultural Dasein democracy democratic discussion distinction economic Eichmann in Jerusalem Elisabeth Young-Bruehl equality essay ethics European existential Existenz Existenz Philosophy freedom fundamental G. W. F. Hegel German Habermas Habermas's Hannah Arendt Heidegger's historical Human Condition Ibid identity individuals interpretation issues Jews judgment Jürgen Habermas Kant Kant's Karl Jaspers labor Margaret Canovan Martin Heidegger Marx means modern moral narrative nation-state National Nazi normative one's ontology Origins of Totalitarianism Palestine pariah phenomenological plurality polis political philosophy Political Theory political thought praxis public realm public space public sphere question Rahel Varnhagen reflections revolutionary salons sense Seyla Benhabib social space of appearances story theorist thinker thinking tion tradition trans transformation understanding University Press worldlessness York Young-Bruehl Zionist