Another Origin of Totalitarianism: Arendt on the Loneliness of Liberal Citizens

Gaffney, Jennifer

doi:10.1080/00071773.2015.1097405

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Second, we take up the common, and the world, in turn, in order to see how and to what extent the two aspects of the public are interrelated and rely, in turn, upon the condition of plurality. Borren has already pointed to the coorigination of common sense and the world; 13 however, it is also the case that our identity itself co-originates with the world and the ability to exercise common sense in the company of others.…”

Section: Chapter One: Plurality and The Common Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The public realm exists as the political expression of the principle of plurality. It is far more than a site of rational-critical discussion: its ontological functions -as the guarantee of reality, as the site of the creation and 13 Borren, "A Sense of the World." 14 In the broadest sense, Arendt describes it thus: "This, however, is not to say that [homo faber and animal laborans] are free to dispense with the public realm altogether, for without a space of appearance and without trusting in action and speech as a mode of being together, neither the reality of one's self, of one's own identity, nor the reality of the surrounding world can be established beyond doubt."…”

Section: Chapter One: Plurality and The Common Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…e.g. Canovan,Hannah Arendt,205,281;Benhabib,The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt,190;Villla,Arendt and Heidegger,13; Curtis, Our Sense of the Real, 24ff. 16 LotM-T 19.…”

Section: Pluralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…95 Ibid,21. 96 HC 137 97 On this, see Lewis Mumford's classic description of the all-pervasive influence of the clock on European society (1963,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). The clock is obviously not a ubiquitous feature of human communities, and the degree to which it became embedded in daily life has obscured the constitutive role 'objective time' plays in our worldly experience.…”

Section: The Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009, 107). She does not, however, fully endorse Arendt's conception, finding it to be an "agonism without antagonism" that, like Habermas, aims at consensus, albeit by different means (2013,(12)(13)(14). While there is something to be said for Mouffe's approach, her use of Arendt as a foil and launching pad, rather than a serious conversation partner, leaves her excluded from this thesis.…”

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confidence: 97%

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The Possibility of Politics: Hannah Arendt, The Public, and the Fragility of the Common World

Ryan¹

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This thesis develops Arendt's concept of "the public" as the necessary condition for the practice of politics. Through an engagement with both the notion of plurality, which lies at the core of Arendt's thought, and her concepts of common sense and the world, it understands the Arendtian public realm as the combination of both public space and public spirit. This not only distinguishes Arendt's concern for politics from the Habermasian sociological-institutional model, but equally explains some of her more contentious arguments about modernity. In the 'dark times' of totalitarian rule, the public spirit is left without a public space. Conversely, the condition of 'the social' is better understood as public space without public spirit. This thesis, as an examination of the conditions of politics, clarifies a key strand of Arendt's work while laying the groundwork for an analysis of Arendt's thoughts on the practice of politics itself.iii

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Section: Chapter One: Plurality and The Common Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chapter One: Plurality and The Common Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…e.g. Canovan,Hannah Arendt,205,281;Benhabib,The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt,190;Villla,Arendt and Heidegger,13; Curtis, Our Sense of the Real, 24ff. 16 LotM-T 19.…”

Section: Pluralitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

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The Possibility of Politics: Hannah Arendt, The Public, and the Fragility of the Common World

Ryan¹

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The Centrality of the Council System in Arendt’s Political Theory

Lederman

2019

Arendt on Freedom, Liberation, and Revolution

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Hannah Arendt, Liberalism, and Freedom from Politics

Hiruta

2019

Arendt on Freedom, Liberation, and Revolution

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Arendt presents her defense of political freedom as a challenge to the liberal convention, which allegedly conceptualizes freedom as "freedom from politics." But her comments on liberal theories of freedom are scattered and unsystematic, and they raise a series of questions. Is her understanding of liberal freedom accurate? If it is not, why does she misconstrue liberal freedom as she does? And does her limited understanding of liberalism undermine her defense of political freedom? This chapter aims to answer these questions. The first half clarifies Arendt's (mis-)understanding of liberal freedom. The latter half critically evaluates her challenge to liberal freedom and considers what is alive in it over a half-century later. enters the public realm, discloses oneself, speaks and acts before and among one's peers, and makes a unique contribution to the world one shares with others. No reader of "What is Freedom?" could fail to see that the author's sympathy is with the latter side. The essay attempts to bring the "old truism" to life and challenge the "liberal" convention. This effort is in line with Arendt's larger theoretical project to reclaim some aspects of the classical heritage under the radically different condition of post-totalitarian mass society.But while her challenge to the "liberal credo" in this way plays an important role in the argumentative strategy that she deploys in defense of political freedom, Arendt's critical engagement with her liberal opponents is surprisingly sparse. In "What Is Freedom?" she refers to Mill's On Liberty twice but does not consider him or any other liberal theorist in detail. 3 Instead, she briefly discusses the purportedly "liberal credo," characterizes it as conforming to the "tradition" of Western philosophy and political thought, and proceeds to reiterate her wellknown polemic against the anti-political bias supposedly animating the "tradition." She has

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Another Origin of Totalitarianism: Arendt on the Loneliness of Liberal Citizens

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

The Possibility of Politics: Hannah Arendt, The Public, and the Fragility of the Common World

The Possibility of Politics: Hannah Arendt, The Public, and the Fragility of the Common World

The Centrality of the Council System in Arendt’s Political Theory

Hannah Arendt, Liberalism, and Freedom from Politics

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