‫إضاءات لفهم الواقع‬

by Hannah Arendt, حنة آرنت

يكشف هذا الكتاب نظرة حنة أرندت إلى أهم الأحداث التاريخية والسياسية والثقافية التي ميّزت القرن العشرين، كدليل يساعدنا في اكتشاف الواقع الحالي وتفسير أحداثه. ويتضمّن نقاشات لافتة تناولتها أرندت حول المسؤوليّة والذّنب، وموقع الدين في العالم الحديث، وتحليلات حول الوجوديّة وطبيعة التوتاليتاريّة، إضافة إلى إضاءات حول سانت أوغستين وكافكا وكيركغارد.

كما يلقي الضوء على التناقض الذي يستمر في كونه العنصر الأكثر وضوحاً في النزاعات الحالية، عبر الاكتشاف والتفسير والبحث لتحقيق هدف أرندت الأساسي في الحياة، وهو الفهم.

يقدّم هذا العمل صورة مميّزة عن تطوّر فكر أرندت التي تميّزت بنفاذ البصيرة والنزاهة الفكرية، كما يبيّن لمَ تحتفظ أفكارها وتحليلاتها بالقدرة على التأ&#

Genres: Philosophy, Essays, Politics, Nonfiction, History, Germany, Ebooks

457 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Hannah Arendt (1906 – 1975) was one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. Born into a German-Jewish family, she was forced to leave Germany in 1933 and lived in Paris for the next eight years, working for a number of Jewish refugee organisations. In 1941 she immigrated to the United States and soon became part of a lively intellectual circle in New York. She held a number of academic positions at various American universities until her death in 1975. She is best known for two works that had a major impact both within and outside the academic community. The first, The Origins of Totalitarianism, published in 1951, was a study of the Nazi and Stalinist regimes that generated a wide-ranging debate on the nature and historical antecedents of the totalitarian phenomenon. The second, The Human Condition, published in 1958, was an original philosophical study that investigated the fundamental categories of the vita activa (labor, work, action). In addition to these two important works, Arendt published a number of influential essays on topics such as the nature of revolution, freedom, authority, tradition and the modern age. At the time of her death in 1975, she had completed the first two volumes of her last major philosophical work, The Life of the Mind, which examined the three fundamental faculties of the vita contemplativa (thinking, willing, judging).

Reviews

[Joseph Sverker]

It is close to impossible to review a book like this. There is a huge amount of essays in various topics and written for various contexts. Yet, this is a book well worth reading if one wants to acquaint oneself with Arendt's thinking. The chronological order adds a further interesting aspect to the book, namely to see a sort of development in her thinking. The short format also makes you come closer to Arendt in a quicker way. Some essays might be slightly bound to its time and place, but it is absolutely fascinating to read her interpretations of totalitarianism and of the death camps. Her insights and her courage to write what she does so close to the actual events are inspiring to say the least.

[Micebyliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

it took me an awfully long time to finish these essays. i set the book aside to read other books, including another Hannah Arendt. Finally today i sorted through the remainder of the most important ones i wanted to read. Some of them were, as i have written before in my reviews, above my paygrade.
I was not a political science/theorist major but i do try to understand the philosophical foundation of her writing. I was particularly interested in the essays with regard to the H0locaust and aftermath, also Kafka, and Religion and Politics. I wonder what she would think to see our world today considering some of her "predictions" about Europe following the war and the rise of Stalinism.

[James Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of essays addresses a broad range of subjects from Augustine to Kierkegaard and beyond, with examinations of existentialism which are enriched by her personal connections to both Jaspers and Heidegger. One of the most important group of essays addresses the titular subject of understanding itself. While addressing questions such as what is the proper basis for morality when faced with "the breakdown of its structure", she uses a thought process that I found not dissimilar to that of Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations.

She also considered the concept of "balance of power" both with regard to relations between nation states, but even more important she addresses the balance of power between branches of our constitutional government as based on the writings of Montesquieu among others. In addition she discusses the issue of fear in tyranny to which I would immediately draw comparisons with the thought of Machiavelli. This leads to raising questions like what is the nature of the "double standard "status of man as both citizen and individual".

One element that all of the essays share is the deep thinking of Arendt herself. This is evident in her method that continually goes back to the source of the issues and ideas under consideration referencing classical philosophy and religion where relevant. It is this deep thinking that makes this collection of essays essential for our consideration of how to understand the politics and ideological issues of the twenty-first century.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing compilation of essays from a transformational political thinker during a historical period that changed the world in many ways. The evolution of thought and evaluation of happenings before, during, and after WWII was eye-opening and moving. Arendt's eloquent verbalization of a new form of terror bravely captures and emphasizes the importance of capturing "reality" no matter how painful to both foster understanding and guard against repetitive mistakes or apathy.

[Christine Cordula Dantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ler textos de Hannah Arendt significa ler textos muito bem escritos. Isso por si já a torna muito interessante. Este livro é uma coletânea de artigos escritos entre 1933 e 1954, e mostram a evolução do pensamento da autora, que era judia, no período que envolveu a 2a. Guerra Mundial. Recomendo.

[Patrick\ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marxist leaning, but a humanist, not a production machine. Arendt is timeless.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine collection. Mixed quality essays.
Excellent, clear and comprehensible expositions of her approach to understanding totalitarianism.
I highly recommend "Understanding and Politics..." and "On the Nature of Totalitarianism."
The essay "Concern with Politics in Recent European Philosophical Thought" is interesting to students of mid-late 20C philosophy.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get used to Arendt’s style, but I really enjoyed this! Favourite essays included “The Seeds of a Fascist International”, “On the Nature of Totalitarianism: An Essay in Understanding”, and “Organised Guilt and Universal Responsibility”. A really interesting insight into the development of Arendt’s thought outside of her landmark works.

[Harriet Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essays and Understanding by Hannah Arendt

Essays in Understanding 1930-1954 by Hannah Aren't is a fascinating book. But, in order to enjoy it, you must be patient. Don't get discouraged, when you run into parts, in a foreign language. But, I get encouraged to read more and difficult books.

[Sam Peterson]

“It is one thing to love the past and to revere the dead; it is another to pretend that the past is alive in the sense that it is in our power to return to it, that all we have to do is to listen to the voices of the dead.”

['Izzat Radzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should've read this before reading Origins.


As was said in the introduction, the 1953 essay entitled "Karl Marx and the Tradition of Western Political Thought" is not included here, but in The Promise of Politics.