Short-listed for the Tractatus Essay Prize, an examination of the innovative strategies Arendt used to achieve intellectual freedom After observing the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Hannah Arendt articulated her controversial concept of the “banality of evil,” thereby posing one of the most chilling and divisive moral questions of the twentieth century: How can genocidal acts be carried out by non-psychopathic people? By revealing the full complexity of the trial with reasoning that defied prevailing attitudes, Arendt became the object of severe and often slanderous criticism, losing some of her closest friends as well as being labeled a “self-hating Jew.” And while her theories have continued to draw innumerable opponents, Arendt’s work remains an invaluable resource for those seeking greater insight into the more problematic aspects of human nature. Anchoring its discussion in the themes of translation, forgiveness, dramatization, and even laughter, Unlearning with Hannah Arendt explores the ways in which this iconic political theorist “unlearned” recognized trends and patterns—both philosophical and cultural—to establish a theoretical praxis all her own. Through an analysis of the social context and intellectual influences—Karl Jaspers, Walter Benjamin, and Martin Heidegger—that helped shape Arendt’s process, Knott has formed a historically engaged and incisive contribution to Arendt’s legacy.

Unlearning with Hannah Arendt

Politics & Social Sciences

Knott, Marie Luise

Philosophy

Other Press

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

The German Jewish moral and political philosopher Hannah Arendt, a refugee from Nazi Germany living in New York, travelled to Jerusalem in 1961 to observe the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the key planners of the Holocaust. Eichmann's defence - that he was only following orders - led her to formulate the now-famous concept of the 'banality of evil', recognizing the lack of a correlation between the enormity of the crime of genocide and the seemingly shallow nature of the man himself, for whom Simon Wiesenthal coined the term 'desk murderer'. In her book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (originally serialized in the New Yorker), Arendt also reflected on the role of the Jewish leadership: 'if the Jewish people had really been disorganized and leaderless, there would have been chaos and plenty of misery but the total number of victims would hardly have been between four and a half and six million people.' Perhaps not surprisingly, this sentence proved enormously controversial: Arendt was labelled a 'self-hating Jew' and lost some of her closest friends. In this fascinating and immensely readable book, Marie Luise Knott explores Arendt's life and work, focusing on the themes of laughter, translation, forgiveness, and dramatization. Unlearning with Hannah Arendt explores the ways in which Arendt 'unlearned' philosophical and cultural concepts to establish a new theoretical praxis. Through an analysis of her social context and intellectual and emotional influences - Karl Jaspers, Walter Benjamin, and her former lover, the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who remained in Nazi Germany - Knott has created a historically engaged and incisive contribution to Arendt's legacy.

Granta Books

Short-listed for the Tractatus Essay Prize, an examination of the innovative strategies Arendt used to achieve intellectual freedom After observing the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Hannah Arendt articulated her controversial concept of the “banality of evil,” thereby posing one of the most chilling and divisive moral questions of the twentieth century: How can genocidal acts be carried out by non-psychopathic people? By revealing the full complexity of the trial with reasoning that defied prevailing attitudes, Arendt became the object of severe and often slanderous criticism, losing some of her closest friends as well as being labeled a “self-hating Jew.”  And while her theories have continued to draw innumerable opponents, Arendt’s work remains an invaluable resource for those seeking greater insight into the more problematic aspects of human nature. Anchoring its discussion in the themes of translation, forgiveness, dramatization, and even laughter, Unlearning with Hannah Arendt explores the ways in which this iconic political theorist “unlearned” recognized trends and patterns—both philosophical and cultural—to establish a theoretical praxis all her own. Through an analysis of the social context and intellectual influences—Karl Jaspers, Walter Benjamin, and Martin Heidegger—that helped shape Arendt’s process, Knott has formed a historically engaged and incisive contribution to Arendt’s legacy.

370 Riverside Drive, 730 Riverside Drive: Hannah Arendt und Ralph Ellison - 17 Hinweise

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Matthes & Seitz Verlag

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