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Hannah Arendt on the social meaning of the human condition
Individualism and its impact
Effects of individualism in society
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In The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt, the public sphere and its absorption into the social sphere is evaluated and helps to demonstrate the necessity of the private sphere. First, Arendt discusses the plurality of man and his need for the presence of other men in order to thrive in society. Arendt explains that, “No human life, not even the life of the hermit in nature’s wilderness, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings”(22). Other human beings play an integral role in the existence and achievement of man. The “hermit in nature’s wilderness” exemplifies that man can temporarily exclude himself from society, but a society needs to exist for him to isolate himself in the
The harsh tone of “the implacable, bright light of the constant presence of others” implies that constant exposure to the public realm is very dangerous because man’s egoistic nature is exacerbated. Arendt reveals that, “A life spent entirely in public, in the presence of others, becomes, as we would say, shallow”(71). If the public realm fosters shallow people, why does Arendt seem to support it so much? In addition, Arendt laments the fact that, “love, in distinction from friendship, is killed, or rather extinguished, the moment it is displayed in public”(51). The strong language used to describe the death of love in the public realm emphasizes that the public realm is where unselfish feelings go to die. Arendt obviously has mixed feelings about the public realm, but offers up a solution to its many downfalls. Arendt explains that, “The second outstanding non-private characteristic of privacy is that the four walls of one’s private property offer the only reliable hiding place from the common public world”(71). The private realm, specifically the household, offers refuge to those who need to escape from the constant publicity of the public realm. By describing private property as a “hiding place,” Arendt acknowledges the imperfect nature of the public realm and rescues herself from wholeheartedly supporting something that encourages man to be
In the chapter “Peasant of the Pavements” from the autobiography The Long Loneliness, the narrator, Dorothy Day discusses the first time she met Peter Maurin. As a result of the chapters focus on Peter, the thesis of this chapter is about him. Day argues that Peter taught her that no matter how different one may seem to be from another, all people are each others “brother’s keeper and the unit of society is the family; that we must have a sense of personal responsibility to take care of our own, and our neighbor, at a personal sacrifice” (179).
The values and perceptions of people in a public space and cause an internal struggle and can ultimately lead to long lasting effects. For instance, as previously discussed – Chico felt the need to reassert his masculinity throughout the novel because he felt Blanca wore the pants in their relationship. This immediately became a problem once people on the outside started sharing their opinions of what goes on in their private space. Furthermore, we have Blanca who bases her values and morals on the opinions and beliefs of the church. This is yet another example of how this particular public space alters one’s individuality. In many cases, both private and public spaces intertwine and the reader may conclude that this may cause tension for some characters. For instance, when Blanca urged the cops to come into her home, Chico did not like how she made this decision without asking for his approval. At this particular moment – both private and public space are overlapping and this caused conflict. The public’s perception of what a woman and/or man should be affects one’s identity. Berland and Warner’s concept of intimacy regarding personal and private space plays a huge role throughout Bodega Dreams. The intimacy of couples throughout the novel caused tension and disapproval from the individuals within the public space and might have even changed the reader’s opinion of certain characters. This novel may lead to reader to question – does intimacy truly effect people within both the private and public space? If so, why must the opinion of the public have long lasting, dramatic effects on our personal
He also discusses how love and the desire for commitment play a big part in the argument for and against gay marriage. Stoddard begins his argument successfully with pathos, or emotional appeal, to attain the reader’s empathy for those who have been deprived of a loved one. The story tells of a woman named Karen Thompson, who was basically married, but not legally, to her female partner; when Thompson’s partner was in a critical car accident, her partner’s parents completely cut Thompson off from all contact with their daughter. Had the two women been married, they would not have had to deal with such heart-throbbing pain. This example is effective in presenting how marriage “can be the key to survival, emotional and financial” (Stoddard, 1988, p. 551).
In The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt, the fundamental qualities of human behavior are described and analyzed. These qualities are first described by discussing the different entities present in the lives of Athenian Greeks. This partition of human life into separate units is supposed to be applied to modern American society as well, however, the structure of today's social order differs from that of ancient Greek. These disparities cause the analysis and ideas projected on the human condition to be contrasting as well.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah begins in 1995 with an unnamed elderly woman who remembers the story of Vianne and Isabelle. At the start of World War II in France, headstrong, impetuous Isabelle decides to help the French resistance by leading downed Allied airmen over the Pyrenees Mountains back to safety. Then, the resistance names her “Nightingale” to protect her true identity and their own, but Nazis eventually send her to a concentration camp. In conclusion, the elderly woman revealed as Isabelle’s older sister, Vianne, shares Isabelle’s heroic story at an event commemorating people who aided France during German occupation. After her speech, the son of an old family friend greets Vianne. He thanks her for her courage and strength to
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, a Mass of people is a large body of persons in a group. In Chapter 10 of Hannah Arendt’s novel, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt broadly defines the term masses, as well as the mass individual. Before doing this, Arendt clearly distinguishes masses from classes and citizens. As Arendt notes, classes and citizens are part of a nation-state, which essentially represent themselves. Arendt claims that Totalitarianism movements are mass organizations of atomized isolated individuals. In this claim, there are many key features that define Totalitarianism as a political system.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and de-facto leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, has long been hailed as a protector of human rights in her native country. It has thus, been incredibly surprising to witness her reaction to the recent forced exodus of nearly half a million minority Rohingya from within her regional borders. Despite being championed as the great savior of her country, she failed to condemn the atrocities for nearly a month; and, when she did finally speak up against the human rights abuses, she refused to address the United Nations accusations of ethnic cleansing. The Rohingya have been stateless since Myanmar’s 1974 Constitution and 1982 Citizenship Act excluded the minority Muslim group as a ‘national race’ . In The Origins of Totalitarianism , Hannah Arendt explores the idea that the interests of the nation state infringe upon the Universal Rights of Man. The
Furthermore, sometimes the desire to be accepted is stronger than prevailing conventions. This makes an individual to do things to make him feel accepted in the society. Krakauer compares the people in Alaska and McCandless. He writes, “And I’m sure there are plenty of other Alaskans who had a lot in common with McCandless when they first got here, too, including many of his critics. Which maybe why they’re so hard on him. Maybe McCandless reminds them a little too much of their former selves” (Krakauer 221). In today’s society, an individual confirms itself to what a society wants and expect him or her to be.
Radicyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness explains that gender roles are confusing and bring about unhappiness in life. The protagonist Stephen Gordon, although born a female, strives throughout the novel to be socially accepted as a male. However, in order for her to be considered this ‘privilege’, society must first grant her a God like ability to provide protection. Within this novel emphasis is placed upon a gendered meaning to provide protection, which Hall translates as only being accessible to males, and solely accomplished through marriage and sexual reproduction. In this way, gender roles are restricted to males being the provider of protection and females the receiver of this gift. Therefore, Hall’s The Well of Loneliness illustrates social inequality of perceived gender roles as a form of social alienation that limits the freedom to choose alternative paths to happiness. Males have a God given power/ divine rights , while
Take the father for example. When exposed to a public setting his thoughts are solely focused on the survival of his son and himself. However, when permitted to dwell in seclusion, or rather when the public is no longer a part of the immediate situation, the father’s thoughts transcends to a more thought-provoking level. In the beginning of the novel, before we are introduced to any antagonist, the father and son are alone e...
In her excerpt "Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government" from her book The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt reveals that terror is at the core of a totalitarian government, and that this terror is based upon ideology. This type of terror exceeds fear. Totalitarianism dominated many governments during the twentieth century. Unlike other forms of government that oppress its people; a totalitarian form of government escapes the boundaries of definition. A totalitarian government is commonly mistaken as a tyranny or dictatorship. Arendt explains that this is because it must begin as a tyranny to lift the boundaries of the laws. Arendt uses two particular governments as examples to help clarify the nature of a totalitarian government; fascist Germany and communist Russia. According to Arendt, the totalitarianism that rose in Germany was based upon the ideology of racism. It was propagated by Hitler and enforced by the Nazi regime. This form of totalitarianism led to the ultimate form of terror: human cruelty and death. Arendt compares that in communist Russi...
One thing we have to learn is that society is never the same. It changes over time and continuously affects us. Another aspect from the article examines sociology and the relationship between “private troubles and public issues”. “Private troubles” affect an individual and their situation. It is not affected by society, just the individual who has that “private trouble”. “Public issues” affect the society as a whole, including an individual and their situation, along with many other individuals and their situations. Gould and Lewis state that those who have “public issues” are “trapped in a ‘private orbit’”. They are imprisoned in their everyday worlds and the circumstances around them. Even with trying to find a job to escape from the “private orbit”, they cannot overcome the troubles. They are stuck in this “private orbit” because of the economy and society and how everything that happens affects every individual. To get out of our “private orbits”, we need to look beyond them and search for factors that can explain history and how it affected us. According to the authors, the “sociological
In her TedTalk, Anne Marie Slaughter describes the need for a work and family equilibrium for women and men with a feminist agenda. She describes multiple stories from her personal life that supports her argument for employees and employers, men and women to realize that family should come before work, and that there is a difference between men 's jobs in the family and women 's job in the family, and that we need to come to a point in our society where it is okay for both sexes to pick whatever occupation they may choose.
Destiny McMahon Theatre Pickett, A 10 October 2017 Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress during the late 1800’s. She was an international star at her time, and made way for many modern-day actresses. She was revolutionary and progressive, hidden behind a well-controlled façade that deceived her critics. Much like her upbringing and lineage, she was controversial and unconventional. Bernhardt proved to be one of the most influential actresses of her time.
Hannah Arendt was born on October 14, 1906 in Hanover Wilhelmine, Germany as the only child of Paul and Martha Arendt. From a very young age Arendt developed a passion for reading especially when it came to theology. It was from this passion that gave her the inspiration to major in theology at the University of Marburg with Rudolf Bultmann. In September of 1929, Arendt received her doctoral degree from the University of Heidelberg. The life of Hannah Arendt exemplifies excellence. This can be seen throughout her work in philosophy. theology and political and humanitarian activity.