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¿Por qué leer a Hannah Arendt hoy? (CLA-DE-MA nº 203663)
El extraordinario y continuo interés internacional en la obra de Hannah Arendt se explica por la percepción sutil e intuitiva de la filósofa sobre los aspectos atemporales presentes en la realidad social, política y económica sobre la que reflexionaba. Ella desarrolló un concepto de política y libertad pública que sirve como estándar crítico para juzgar la realidad contemporánea. Richard J. Bernstein argumenta que Arendt debe leerse hoy porque sus penetrantes ideas nos ayudan a pensar tanto en la oscuridad de nuestro tiempo como en las fuentes de iluminación que podemos encontrar para construir el futuro. Él explora su pensamiento sobre la apatridia y los refugiados; el derecho a tener derechos; su crítica del sionismo o el significado de la banalidad del mal, entre otros. Este libro será de gran interés para cualquiera que quiera comprender las tendencias históricas que configuran el mundo de hoy.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 11, 2018
69 people are currently reading
345 people want to read
About the author
Richard Bernstein
45 books30 followersRichard Paul Bernstein was an American journalist, columnist, and author. He wrote the Letter from America column for the International Herald Tribune. He was a book critic at The New York Times and a foreign correspondent for both Time magazine and The New York Times in Europe and Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 9, 2025
Hannah Arendt Revisited
The philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906 -- 1975) was born in Germany where she studied and, famously, had an affair with Martin Heidegger. With WW II, Arendt became stateless for 14 years. In 1941, Arendt escaped Europe and arrived in the United States. In 1951 she became an American citizen and lived in the United States for the rest of her life. Arendt is best-known for her controversial 1965 book "Eichmann in Jerusalem". This book has tended to overshadow the rest of Arendt's extensive writing.
In his book, "Why Read Hannah Arendt Now" (2018), philosopher Richard Bernstein makes a compelling case for Arendt's importance. The Vera List Professor of Philosophy at the New School of Social Research, Bernstein has written extensively on pragmatism. His short accessible study of Arendt argues that "we are living in dark times that are engulfing the entire world". Arendt found herself in similar times living through Nazism and great personal danger. For Bernstein, Arendt shows that "even in the darkest of times we can hope to find some illumination -- illumination that comes not so much from theories and concepts but from the lives and works of individuals". He finds Arendt worth reading because "she is an astute critic of dangerous tendencies in modern life and she illuminates the potentialities for restoring the dignity of politics". (pp 2-3)
Bernstein's book consists of short inter-related chapters that discuss themes in Arendt's work as opposed to detailed study of individual books or biography. (There is no reference to Arendt's philosophical or personal relationship to Heidegger.) Some of the themes involve specific political questions that Arendt discussed while others are broader in scope. Bernstein begins with a discussion of Arendt's life as a stateless person and how this WW II experience became pervasive to her thought. Throughout her career, Arendt found the nature of freedom and of human fulfillment in being part of a community rather that in the stateless life of a refugee. Broadly, the source of individuality and of rights lies in community rather than separate from it. Further, Bernstein points out, since the American and French Revolutions, Arendt regarded rights as a purely human product. The turn to "inalienable" rights "meant nothing more or less than that from then on Man and not God's command or the customs of history , should be the source of Law". (Bernstein, p. 21)
Even before her book on Eichmann, Arendt took controversial positions on public events. Bernstein offers nuanced discussions of her views on the establishment of the State of Israel and of her reservations about the American civil rights movement, as evidenced in her article about the integration of Little Rock High School and in other works. Bernstein discusses well Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" and the controversy it engendered. He finds much to criticize in the book. Among other things, Arendt seriously misjudged Eichmann by finding that his role in the Holocaust illustrated the "banality of evil". Still, Bernstein finds that Arendt's study of Eichmann has, in its broader sense and it her concept of evil's frequent banality, much that remains valuable.
Bernstein uses the book about the Eichmann trial as a pivot to explore the underlying, broader themes of Arendt's thought. The concluding four sections of the book should be read as a unit. Arendt discussed the totalitarian tendencies of the politics of her day with a focus on the culture of lying. Bernstein argues for the increasing relevance of her discussion for contemporary life. While he comments on the Trump presidency, for the most part Bernstein allows Arendt to speak for herself, frequently through quotation. Arendt also spoke of recovering the dignity of politics through a sense of individual responsibility and informed, intimate discussion and action with other people holding a divergence of views. Her sense of individual responsibility in community does, as Bernstein argues, make Arendt important and worth reading. Arendt discussed several moments in history in which she found that politics worked. Among these moments were the American Revolution and the subsequent development of constitutionalism at the State and National levels. Bernstein gives substantial attention to Arendt's writings on the American Revolution.
Bernstein ultimately finds Arendt's work important because of the manner in which she combined individual responsibility with political freedom. Bernstein concludes:
"The task she set herself is now out task -- to bear the burden of our century and neither to deny its existence nor submit meekly to its weight. Arendt should be read today because she was so perceptive in comprehending the dangers that still confront us and warned us about becoming indifferent or cynical. She urged us to take responsibility for our political destinies. She taught us that we have the capacity to act in concert, to initiate, to begin, to strive to make freedom a worldly reality." (pp. 120 --121)
I learned a great deal from Bernstein's short book and was inspired to revisit or revisit Arendt's own writings. The publisher, Polity Press, kindly sent me a copy of the book to review.
Robin Friedman
The philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906 -- 1975) was born in Germany where she studied and, famously, had an affair with Martin Heidegger. With WW II, Arendt became stateless for 14 years. In 1941, Arendt escaped Europe and arrived in the United States. In 1951 she became an American citizen and lived in the United States for the rest of her life. Arendt is best-known for her controversial 1965 book "Eichmann in Jerusalem". This book has tended to overshadow the rest of Arendt's extensive writing.
In his book, "Why Read Hannah Arendt Now" (2018), philosopher Richard Bernstein makes a compelling case for Arendt's importance. The Vera List Professor of Philosophy at the New School of Social Research, Bernstein has written extensively on pragmatism. His short accessible study of Arendt argues that "we are living in dark times that are engulfing the entire world". Arendt found herself in similar times living through Nazism and great personal danger. For Bernstein, Arendt shows that "even in the darkest of times we can hope to find some illumination -- illumination that comes not so much from theories and concepts but from the lives and works of individuals". He finds Arendt worth reading because "she is an astute critic of dangerous tendencies in modern life and she illuminates the potentialities for restoring the dignity of politics". (pp 2-3)
Bernstein's book consists of short inter-related chapters that discuss themes in Arendt's work as opposed to detailed study of individual books or biography. (There is no reference to Arendt's philosophical or personal relationship to Heidegger.) Some of the themes involve specific political questions that Arendt discussed while others are broader in scope. Bernstein begins with a discussion of Arendt's life as a stateless person and how this WW II experience became pervasive to her thought. Throughout her career, Arendt found the nature of freedom and of human fulfillment in being part of a community rather that in the stateless life of a refugee. Broadly, the source of individuality and of rights lies in community rather than separate from it. Further, Bernstein points out, since the American and French Revolutions, Arendt regarded rights as a purely human product. The turn to "inalienable" rights "meant nothing more or less than that from then on Man and not God's command or the customs of history , should be the source of Law". (Bernstein, p. 21)
Even before her book on Eichmann, Arendt took controversial positions on public events. Bernstein offers nuanced discussions of her views on the establishment of the State of Israel and of her reservations about the American civil rights movement, as evidenced in her article about the integration of Little Rock High School and in other works. Bernstein discusses well Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" and the controversy it engendered. He finds much to criticize in the book. Among other things, Arendt seriously misjudged Eichmann by finding that his role in the Holocaust illustrated the "banality of evil". Still, Bernstein finds that Arendt's study of Eichmann has, in its broader sense and it her concept of evil's frequent banality, much that remains valuable.
Bernstein uses the book about the Eichmann trial as a pivot to explore the underlying, broader themes of Arendt's thought. The concluding four sections of the book should be read as a unit. Arendt discussed the totalitarian tendencies of the politics of her day with a focus on the culture of lying. Bernstein argues for the increasing relevance of her discussion for contemporary life. While he comments on the Trump presidency, for the most part Bernstein allows Arendt to speak for herself, frequently through quotation. Arendt also spoke of recovering the dignity of politics through a sense of individual responsibility and informed, intimate discussion and action with other people holding a divergence of views. Her sense of individual responsibility in community does, as Bernstein argues, make Arendt important and worth reading. Arendt discussed several moments in history in which she found that politics worked. Among these moments were the American Revolution and the subsequent development of constitutionalism at the State and National levels. Bernstein gives substantial attention to Arendt's writings on the American Revolution.
Bernstein ultimately finds Arendt's work important because of the manner in which she combined individual responsibility with political freedom. Bernstein concludes:
"The task she set herself is now out task -- to bear the burden of our century and neither to deny its existence nor submit meekly to its weight. Arendt should be read today because she was so perceptive in comprehending the dangers that still confront us and warned us about becoming indifferent or cynical. She urged us to take responsibility for our political destinies. She taught us that we have the capacity to act in concert, to initiate, to begin, to strive to make freedom a worldly reality." (pp. 120 --121)
I learned a great deal from Bernstein's short book and was inspired to revisit or revisit Arendt's own writings. The publisher, Polity Press, kindly sent me a copy of the book to review.
Robin Friedman
January 8, 2023
Se dice que la etimología de “idiota” alude a la persona que pone sus propios asuntos por encima de los de su colectividad, es decir, aquel que se priva de servir a otros. Por su parte, etimológicamente, la palabra ministro significa “el que sirve”, no el que es servido; y el senado era el conjunto de ancianos (en otros tiempos, la vejez atesoraba sabiduría) que se reunían en consejo para discutir asuntos importantes de la comunidad.
Con este par de simplificaciones y obviedades, se puede ilustrar cómo los poderes políticos (al menos así ocurre en Colombia) están llenos de senadores y ministros, para nada sabios ni bienintencionados, a quienes se les honra con atenciones tan desmesuradas como sus salarios (ganan más de 32 salarios mínimos de este momento; o sea, lo que ganarían 32 empleados de servicios generales). Así, la política está secuestrada por idiotas de familias envejecidas en el poder que se alimentan de la administración de recursos públicos para favorecer sus emprendimientos privados.
Este contexto me sirve para intentar una respuesta personal a la pregunta del libro de Richard Bernstein: “Why Read Hannah Arendt Today?” Porque la política necesita ser dignificada. ¿De qué manera? Reconociendo la pluralidad como elemento sustancial de cualquier democracia; admitiendo la urgencia del reconocimiento del otro como sujeto de derechos sin importar cuál sea su situación social; identificando el carácter terrenal de toda motivación humana: criminal, discriminatoria, etc.; asumiendo actitudes discursivas que tiendan hacia la verdad a la vez que se conjuran estrategias para reconocer intentos que la desprestigian o la moldean en función de su interés; construyendo y participando espacios y escenarios de debate, discusión, deliberación donde las opiniones se formen y se confronten…
En este maravilloso libro, Richard Bernstein logra una impresionante explicación introductoria a conceptos fundamentales del pensamiento político de Hannah Arendt. Parte de la preocupación por las políticas norteamericanas en materia de inmigración, refugiados y expatriados, y encuentra en la proyección filosófico-política de Arendt un marco de reflexión basado en la experiencia, el análisis y la confianza en la iniciativa por llegar a acuerdos.
Con alegre esperanza, comprendí al leer este libro que la dignidad de la política es la formación, fortalecimiento y replanteamiento de la pluralidad de opiniones.
Con este par de simplificaciones y obviedades, se puede ilustrar cómo los poderes políticos (al menos así ocurre en Colombia) están llenos de senadores y ministros, para nada sabios ni bienintencionados, a quienes se les honra con atenciones tan desmesuradas como sus salarios (ganan más de 32 salarios mínimos de este momento; o sea, lo que ganarían 32 empleados de servicios generales). Así, la política está secuestrada por idiotas de familias envejecidas en el poder que se alimentan de la administración de recursos públicos para favorecer sus emprendimientos privados.
Este contexto me sirve para intentar una respuesta personal a la pregunta del libro de Richard Bernstein: “Why Read Hannah Arendt Today?” Porque la política necesita ser dignificada. ¿De qué manera? Reconociendo la pluralidad como elemento sustancial de cualquier democracia; admitiendo la urgencia del reconocimiento del otro como sujeto de derechos sin importar cuál sea su situación social; identificando el carácter terrenal de toda motivación humana: criminal, discriminatoria, etc.; asumiendo actitudes discursivas que tiendan hacia la verdad a la vez que se conjuran estrategias para reconocer intentos que la desprestigian o la moldean en función de su interés; construyendo y participando espacios y escenarios de debate, discusión, deliberación donde las opiniones se formen y se confronten…
En este maravilloso libro, Richard Bernstein logra una impresionante explicación introductoria a conceptos fundamentales del pensamiento político de Hannah Arendt. Parte de la preocupación por las políticas norteamericanas en materia de inmigración, refugiados y expatriados, y encuentra en la proyección filosófico-política de Arendt un marco de reflexión basado en la experiencia, el análisis y la confianza en la iniciativa por llegar a acuerdos.
Con alegre esperanza, comprendí al leer este libro que la dignidad de la política es la formación, fortalecimiento y replanteamiento de la pluralidad de opiniones.
January 15, 2022
Concise and easy to read overview of Hannah Arendt’s work. Every chapter left me deep in thought, and i found her views on Zionism especially intriguing. Loved the reflection on her work today and also his analysis of why her works were controversial at the time.
December 14, 2024
This book serves as a guide to Hannah Arendt's thoughts for those who have never read any of her books but are interested in approaching her ideas concerning political thinking, which is far richer than her known conception of the "banality of evil".
For those who knew her, she could be quite stubborn, rarely backing down when she formed an opinion, which caused her troubles many times, like her “Reflections on Little Rock” and later in life, the Eichmann controversy. Yet, her political thinking was, as Berstein puts it "quite perceptive about some of the deepest problems, perplexities, and dangerous tendencies in modern political life". Short, yet interesting reading.
For those who knew her, she could be quite stubborn, rarely backing down when she formed an opinion, which caused her troubles many times, like her “Reflections on Little Rock” and later in life, the Eichmann controversy. Yet, her political thinking was, as Berstein puts it "quite perceptive about some of the deepest problems, perplexities, and dangerous tendencies in modern political life". Short, yet interesting reading.
October 9, 2018
Bernstein has squeezed the main elements of Hannah Arendt's work into 121 small pages. He does not seek to hide her faults (she was to quick to criticise blacks in America, for example, in their fight for equality) but her key insights are worth understanding. Bernstein shows how many of those insights relate to the modern world of Trump, even if we are not yet engulfed in totalitarianism as we were in the last century of Naziism and Soviet Communism.
I have read The Origins of Totalitarianism and Arendt's work is a masterful study of the history behind such disasters for humankind and how they came into being, how they traumatised individuals to lose their humanity. This loss related to those who dictated over the rest and those who were in their thrall, whose thinking minds were absent. It is the thought process, the ability to discuss with oneself what is happening and then to enter into the public space to enter into dialogue with others, that is crucial in the fight against such domination.
The problem now is that Trump and those like him are determined to rain lies on to people and to ensure that they have no response because the lies fit their needs. This is how Trump, Brexit and the rest deluge those that wish to believe with fakery. If enough receive the lies willingly, then the spell remains. It is up to the rest, including the media, of course, but also individuals, to continue to argue against this as humans and in public spaces, never to acquiesce in the notion that it is all right to lie, fine to lie continuously.
Bernstein's book is a good one if it encourages this and helps a potential reader of Arendt to read her books and to use their minds in the way that she suggests.
I have read The Origins of Totalitarianism and Arendt's work is a masterful study of the history behind such disasters for humankind and how they came into being, how they traumatised individuals to lose their humanity. This loss related to those who dictated over the rest and those who were in their thrall, whose thinking minds were absent. It is the thought process, the ability to discuss with oneself what is happening and then to enter into the public space to enter into dialogue with others, that is crucial in the fight against such domination.
The problem now is that Trump and those like him are determined to rain lies on to people and to ensure that they have no response because the lies fit their needs. This is how Trump, Brexit and the rest deluge those that wish to believe with fakery. If enough receive the lies willingly, then the spell remains. It is up to the rest, including the media, of course, but also individuals, to continue to argue against this as humans and in public spaces, never to acquiesce in the notion that it is all right to lie, fine to lie continuously.
Bernstein's book is a good one if it encourages this and helps a potential reader of Arendt to read her books and to use their minds in the way that she suggests.
December 21, 2025
Interessante Interpretation von Arendts Schriften auf unsere heutige Welt bezogen. Der englische Titel „Why read Hannah Arendt now“ macht mehr Sinn als der deutsche.
August 2, 2022
Essentially a pamphlet on Arendt and her thought, Bernstein’s book doesn’t exactly grapple with her thought but instead uses it to push something of a centrist agenda. Which would be fine in some contexts, but when he tries to tie her to specific political movements- in particular the 2016 election- it not only dates the book, but waters down Arendt’s thought into something for the op-Ed pages.
For example, Bernstein argues “there is a dangerous tendency to refuse to listen to others who disagree with us,” (pg 72) which is the kind of thinking that lets people get away with arguing in bad faith; elsewhere he argues the American Revolution was successful because “they were involved in vigorous argument and persuasion. When necessary they compromised.” (Pg 108). Again - giving into demands of people who not only would not give into yours, but would seek to undo anything you accomplish, that is not a healthy way to get things done.
Bernstein seems to have this sense of optimism that with a little more pragmatic politics, things will get back to normal. He also seems intent on rehashing the 2016 election, where one imagines he felt betrayed by both sides. It’s too bad - what could have been a useful dead is instead mired in “both-sides” and dated references. One wonders if Arendt would have recognized her own thought.
For example, Bernstein argues “there is a dangerous tendency to refuse to listen to others who disagree with us,” (pg 72) which is the kind of thinking that lets people get away with arguing in bad faith; elsewhere he argues the American Revolution was successful because “they were involved in vigorous argument and persuasion. When necessary they compromised.” (Pg 108). Again - giving into demands of people who not only would not give into yours, but would seek to undo anything you accomplish, that is not a healthy way to get things done.
Bernstein seems to have this sense of optimism that with a little more pragmatic politics, things will get back to normal. He also seems intent on rehashing the 2016 election, where one imagines he felt betrayed by both sides. It’s too bad - what could have been a useful dead is instead mired in “both-sides” and dated references. One wonders if Arendt would have recognized her own thought.
December 27, 2021
Must read if you don’t know Arendt and would like to go through her political thinking in a small yet insightful and rich book.
October 27, 2019
Una gran i experta introducció a la filosofia política d’Arendt. Múltiples són els temes tractats en aquestes poques pàgines. La comunitat com a espai polític per definició. El totalitarisme com a negació de l’individu i la dissolució de la seva essència moral i social. Els refugiats com a exclosos de la polis per antonomàsia. L’estat d’Israel en la seva evolució de somni d’alliberament a estat ètnic i sectari. La banalitat en el mal absolut.
Entre els meus passatges preferits hi apareixen la reivindicació dels consells ciutadans, dels soviets i l’esperit revolucionari: de la Revolució Americana a la Francesa; de la Comuna de París als Soviets de 1905 i a la Revolució Hongaresa de 1956. Novament hi apareix la política des de baix com la garantia de la flama política des de la seva base, amb un record a Jefferson. Bernstein, a banda d’exposar-nos de manera simple però rigorosa el pensament de l’autora el vincula amb els desafiaments del nostre temps: la manipulació política, el silenciament dels opressos i els marginats, el retorn del pseudo-feixisme. Un veritable curs intensiu d’Arendt, tan breu com captivador.
Entre els meus passatges preferits hi apareixen la reivindicació dels consells ciutadans, dels soviets i l’esperit revolucionari: de la Revolució Americana a la Francesa; de la Comuna de París als Soviets de 1905 i a la Revolució Hongaresa de 1956. Novament hi apareix la política des de baix com la garantia de la flama política des de la seva base, amb un record a Jefferson. Bernstein, a banda d’exposar-nos de manera simple però rigorosa el pensament de l’autora el vincula amb els desafiaments del nostre temps: la manipulació política, el silenciament dels opressos i els marginats, el retorn del pseudo-feixisme. Un veritable curs intensiu d’Arendt, tan breu com captivador.
Read
August 3, 2024This book was published in 1988 – therefore the “now” bit of the “why read” relates to the late 80’s.
So in 2024 is it still a good read – and as far as it goes yes. The book summaries the main point of Arendt’s life and times plus quotes form the main books and manuscripts she wrote. If you don’t have time to read an entire Arendt book then Bernstein does a very good job of showing the highs and lows of her philosophy and life.
Given her life living in Nazi Germany, then to a concentration camp in France, escapes and then has to tensely wait to get out of Portugal to the USA – she is pretty good when talking about right wing, totalitarianism and general threats to democracy. She also worried about the state of stateless individuals and how they could easily become victims or targets.
Bernstein also looks at the times Arendt causes controversy such as her description of Eichman under the phrase “banality of evil” where we expect “evil” to be huge, dark and numinous – whereas many of the worst offenders were boring desk men organising terrible acts without thought or mercy. Mind you her concept of a federal Israel/Palestine with Arab and jews jointly ruling caused her to encounter many issues – however good that idea might have ben theoretically it came up against political reality.
Arendt did make some errors such as believing initially that segregation in the USA was okay. Bernstein details her writings and then her apology later. She did seem to have a blind spot for a while with those of colour and the high levels of discrimination they faced. Her apology helped.
Arendt also highlighted the issue with allowing liberty and individual freedom whilst the State trying to maintain stability.
Therefore even this book from 1988 is a useful read for those of us unwilling oir lacking time to read the full texts!
So in 2024 is it still a good read – and as far as it goes yes. The book summaries the main point of Arendt’s life and times plus quotes form the main books and manuscripts she wrote. If you don’t have time to read an entire Arendt book then Bernstein does a very good job of showing the highs and lows of her philosophy and life.
Given her life living in Nazi Germany, then to a concentration camp in France, escapes and then has to tensely wait to get out of Portugal to the USA – she is pretty good when talking about right wing, totalitarianism and general threats to democracy. She also worried about the state of stateless individuals and how they could easily become victims or targets.
Bernstein also looks at the times Arendt causes controversy such as her description of Eichman under the phrase “banality of evil” where we expect “evil” to be huge, dark and numinous – whereas many of the worst offenders were boring desk men organising terrible acts without thought or mercy. Mind you her concept of a federal Israel/Palestine with Arab and jews jointly ruling caused her to encounter many issues – however good that idea might have ben theoretically it came up against political reality.
Arendt did make some errors such as believing initially that segregation in the USA was okay. Bernstein details her writings and then her apology later. She did seem to have a blind spot for a while with those of colour and the high levels of discrimination they faced. Her apology helped.
Arendt also highlighted the issue with allowing liberty and individual freedom whilst the State trying to maintain stability.
Therefore even this book from 1988 is a useful read for those of us unwilling oir lacking time to read the full texts!
June 25, 2024
The author allows us to know the fundamental reasons why Hannah Arendt's work continues to be a lucid reflection not only on the twentieth century but also on what this political theorist considered could be the main problems of today's contemporary society.
El autor nos permite conocer las razones fundamentales por las que la obra de Hannah Arendt sigue siendo una lúcida reflexión no solamente sobre el siglo veinte sino sobre lo que esta teórica política consideraba que podrían ser los principales problemas de la sociedad contemporánea actual.
Egileak aukera ematen digu Hannah Arendt-en lanak XX.mendearen inguruan ez ezik, gaur egungo gizartearen arazo nagusitzat teorialari politiko honek uste zuena izan zitezkeenaren hausnarketa argia izaten jarraitzeko oinarrizko arrazoiak ezagutzeko.
L'auteur nous permet de connaître les raisons fondamentales pour lesquelles l'œuvre d'Hannah Arendt continue d'être une réflexion lucide non seulement sur le XXe siècle mais aussi sur ce que cette théoricienne politique considérait comme pourraient être les principaux problèmes de la société contemporaine d'aujourd'hui.
El autor nos permite conocer las razones fundamentales por las que la obra de Hannah Arendt sigue siendo una lúcida reflexión no solamente sobre el siglo veinte sino sobre lo que esta teórica política consideraba que podrían ser los principales problemas de la sociedad contemporánea actual.
Egileak aukera ematen digu Hannah Arendt-en lanak XX.mendearen inguruan ez ezik, gaur egungo gizartearen arazo nagusitzat teorialari politiko honek uste zuena izan zitezkeenaren hausnarketa argia izaten jarraitzeko oinarrizko arrazoiak ezagutzeko.
L'auteur nous permet de connaître les raisons fondamentales pour lesquelles l'œuvre d'Hannah Arendt continue d'être une réflexion lucide non seulement sur le XXe siècle mais aussi sur ce que cette théoricienne politique considérait comme pourraient être les principaux problèmes de la société contemporaine d'aujourd'hui.
November 29, 2024
Hannah Arendt’s writing is both wildly relevant to our bottomless brokenness, and legitimately challenging — dense, archaic, scholarly in a way that can be hard to access for non-scholars. So the basic premise of this book carried so much appeal…but ultimately it came up short.
Outside of quoting liberally from highly-relevant passages (which is useful, see conclusion below!), the book does little to unpack Arendt or make her collective work more accessible (Samantha Rose Hill’s recent book on HA is far more successful there).
Meanwhile the case for “why” is pretty self-evident, and this, alongside a strikingly timid posture (this is an agonizingly academic book, in times that demand activism, especially from academics), results in central thesis tends to flounder.
All of that said, have I been quoting passages to my wife for the past several days, as we try to make sense of our darkness, circa Nov. 2024?
Yes. And that’s not nothing. So what do I know?
Outside of quoting liberally from highly-relevant passages (which is useful, see conclusion below!), the book does little to unpack Arendt or make her collective work more accessible (Samantha Rose Hill’s recent book on HA is far more successful there).
Meanwhile the case for “why” is pretty self-evident, and this, alongside a strikingly timid posture (this is an agonizingly academic book, in times that demand activism, especially from academics), results in central thesis tends to flounder.
All of that said, have I been quoting passages to my wife for the past several days, as we try to make sense of our darkness, circa Nov. 2024?
Yes. And that’s not nothing. So what do I know?
December 18, 2018
Overcoming Brexit helplessness
If,like me,your educational path never led you to find the time to have a reliable modern philosophical understanding of politics ,Berstein's short but comprehensive analysis of Arendt's thoughts is invaluable.
This is for those of us who want to understand what needs to be done to find a sustainable pathway out of the Brexit morass of behaviour and debate currently engulfing us. 'Arendt' is so relevant in addressing today's complex and dangerous European political scene. Berstein has done those of us not able to wade through large tracts of her writings, a valuable and relevant extraction of her thoughts. It identifies what kind of action is now desperately needed to wrest freedom from the jaws of the harmful neo fascist forces circulating around Brexit.
If,like me,your educational path never led you to find the time to have a reliable modern philosophical understanding of politics ,Berstein's short but comprehensive analysis of Arendt's thoughts is invaluable.
This is for those of us who want to understand what needs to be done to find a sustainable pathway out of the Brexit morass of behaviour and debate currently engulfing us. 'Arendt' is so relevant in addressing today's complex and dangerous European political scene. Berstein has done those of us not able to wade through large tracts of her writings, a valuable and relevant extraction of her thoughts. It identifies what kind of action is now desperately needed to wrest freedom from the jaws of the harmful neo fascist forces circulating around Brexit.
November 28, 2020
Folks who know Hannah Arendt's work well won't find any surprises here, but this is an excellent short introduction to her life and work. Rather than attempt to do a broad overview, Bernstein focuses on 5 core themes in much of her work on the intersection between ethics and politics, and why they are so relevant in a world where democratic practices and commitments seem fragile. For such a short book (120 pages!), it packs in a surprising amount of substance, and is really gracefully written.
May 6, 2024
Short but mighty: Bernstein has written exceptional and accessible introduction to Hannah Arendt's work and its connection to the modern moment.
"The deepest theme concerning responsibility that runs through all her thinking --and is so relevant today-- is the need to take responsibility for our political lives...Arendt's life long project was to understand, to comprehend, and to do this in a way that honetly confronts both the darknes of our times and the sources of illumination" (119-120).
"The deepest theme concerning responsibility that runs through all her thinking --and is so relevant today-- is the need to take responsibility for our political lives...Arendt's life long project was to understand, to comprehend, and to do this in a way that honetly confronts both the darknes of our times and the sources of illumination" (119-120).
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April 24, 2022အာရင့်ကို ဘာလို့ဖတ်သင့်သလဲဆိုတာ သူမက ကျွန်တော်တို့ရဲ့ နိုင်ငံရေးကြမ္မာနဲ့ ပတ်သက်တဲ့ တာဝန် ကျွန်တော်တို့မှာ ရှိကြောင်း။လွတ်လပ်မှုကို အရှိတရားဖြစ်လာအောင် ဖန်တီးနိုင်စွမ်း ကျွန်တော်တို့်မှာ ရှိကြောင်း။
“စတင်ခြင်းဟာ လူသားတွေရဲ့ အန္တိမစွမ်းရည်ဖြစ်တယ်။နိုင်ငံရေးသဘောနဲ့ ကြည့်မယ်ဆို လွတ်လပ်မှုနဲ့ ထပ်တူညီတဲ့အရာဖြစ်တယ်။”
“စတင်ခြင်းဟာ လူသားတွေရဲ့ အန္တိမစွမ်းရည်ဖြစ်တယ်။နိုင်ငံရေးသဘောနဲ့ ကြည့်မယ်ဆို လွတ်လပ်မှုနဲ့ ထပ်တူညီတဲ့အရာဖြစ်တယ်။”
March 9, 2024
Covers key ideas from a selection of Arendt writings. Lots of themes are connected to today's politics. Mixture of analysis and optimism/enthusiasm:
"The task she set herself on is now our task - to bear the burden of our century and neither to deny its existence nor submit meekly to its weight."
October 14, 2019
The main theme of Arendt's works is statelessness. They are nobody and invisible when it comes to rules and rights. I found it very ironic though, while talking about current refugee crisis Bernstein did not mention the word Kurd, not even once, in his book, just to prove Arendt's point!
December 22, 2024
Con ganas de leer algo más del señor Bernstein, pero decepcionado. Este volúmen es muy breve para sus aspiraciones. No reflexiona en motivos por los que Arendt prevalece singular el día de hoy. Como historia de la autora queda mucho mejor que como ensayo.
July 30, 2019
This is a surprisingly important book for all those interested in our common ideas of integrity, responsibility, society et cetera.
July 12, 2022
Great survey/introduction of the themes in Hannah Arendt's work.
November 27, 2022
A wonderful and accessible insight into the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, with critical analysis and a stern, palpable conclusion.
January 30, 2023
Kraťounká knížka, která vám připomene, proč se znovu vrátit k těm dlouhým od Hannah Arendt.
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May 31, 2024Gute kompakte Übersicht über Hannah Arendts Schaffen. Insbesondere zu ihren Ansichten hinsichtlich des Zionismus – erst Freundin, dann Kritikerin – möchte ich noch mehr lesen.
October 27, 2024
Un recorrido por el pensamiento de Hannah Arendt y la demostración de que los conflictos, los dilemas y las ideas que planteó en sus obras siguen presentes hoy en día.
May 4, 2021
Das Buch ist so aktuell, dass es besonders schmerzt. Wer sich mit der aktuellen Situation und gleichzeitig mit Hannah Arendt und ihren Gedanken etwas tiefer auseinander setzen will, ist hier genau richtig. Diese Analyse von Richard J. Bernstein ist besonders gut gelungen und führt dazu, dass besonders viele Textstellen angestrichen und kommentiert werden "müssen". Eine tolle Übersicht, die Lust auf mehr von Hannah Arendt macht.
October 14, 2021
Fiz um breve review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU7cPwTAJws/
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