Hannah Arendt, Volume 1Twenty-five years after her death, we are still coming to terms with the controversial figure of Hannah Arendt. Interlacing the life and work of this seminal twentieth-century philosopher, Julia Kristeva provides us with an elegant, sophisticated biography brimming with historical and philosophical insight. Centering on the theme of female genius, Hannah Arendt emphasizes three features of the philosopher's work. First, by exploring Arendt's critique of Saint Augustine and her biographical essay on Rahel Varnhagen, Kristeva accentuates Arendt's commitment to recounting lives and narration. Second, Kristeva reflects on Arendt's perspective on Judaism, anti-Semitism, and the "banality of evil." Finally, the biography assesses Arendt's intellectual journey, placing her enthusiasm for observing both social phenomena and political events in the context of her personal life. Drawing on fragments of Arendt's most intimate correspondence with her longtime lover Martin Heidegger and her husband Heinrich Blucher, excerpts from her mother's "Unser Kind" (a diary tracking Hannah's formative years), and passages from Arendt's philosophical writings, Kristeva presents a luminous story. With a thorough thematic index and bibliographical references, Hannah Arendt is a major breakthrough in the understanding of an essential thinker. |
Contents
LIFE AS A NARRATIVE | 3 |
Rahel Varnhagen | 48 |
A Defense of Narration | 69 |
The Tale of the Twentieth Century | 86 |
SUPERFLUOUS HUMANITY ΙΟΙ | 101 |
Faith and Revolution in Society That Sanctified Hearth | 154 |
THINKING WILLING AND JUDGING | 171 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
action activity anti-Semitism Arendt believes Arendt's view Aristotle assimilation become beginning bios birth Blücher bond Christian citing concept criticized critique Dasein death Dreyfus affair Duns Scotus Eichmann essence eternal evil existence experience fact faculty forgiveness freedom French genius German Greek Hannah Arendt Heidegger Corr Heidegger's Heinrich Blücher human affairs Human Condition Ibid important inherent intellectual Jaspers Corr Jewish Jews judge judgment JULIA KRISTEVA Kant Kant's Kristeva labor language later letter living Martin Heidegger meaning metaphysics mind modern moral mother narration narrative nation never Nicomachean Ethics Nietzsche ontology Origins of Totalitarianism pariah particular passion person philosopher phronesis Plato pleasure plurality polis political realm praxis public realm question radical Rahel Rahel Varnhagen relationship remains reveals Revolution role Saint Augustine shared social society sort spectators story taste thinker thinking ego thought tion Trans transforms truth unique University Varnhagen woman women words writings wrote