The Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt

A distinguished team of contributors examines the primary themes of Arendt's multi-faceted thought.

Dana Villa (Edited by)

9780521645713, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 30 November 2000

324 pages
22.6 x 14.9 x 1.8 cm, 0.52 kg

'The companion is intended primarily for new readers and non-specialists. However, there is much to commend it also to advanced students and specialists.' Contemporary Political Theory

Hannah Arendt was one of the foremost political thinkers of the twentieth century, and her particular interests have made her one of the most frequently cited thinkers of our time. This Companion examines the primary themes of her multi-faceted work, from her theory of totalitarianism and her controversial idea of the 'banality of evil' to her classic studies of political action and her final reflections on judgment and the life of the mind. Each essay examines the political, philosophical, and historical concerns which shaped Arendt's thought, and which prompted her to become one of the most unapologetic champions of the political life in the history of Western thought.

Introduction: The development of Arendt's political thought Dana Villa
Part I. Totalitarianism and Nationalism: 1. Arendt's theory of totalitarianism: a reassessment Margaret Canovan
2. Arendt and nationalism Ronald Beiner
Part II. Political Evil and the Holocaust: 3. Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem Seyla Benhabib
4. Arendt and the Holocaust Mary Dietz
Part III. Freedom and Political Action: 5. Freedom: the priority of the political Jerome Kohn
6. Political action: its nature and advantages George Kateb
Part IV. Arendt and the Ancients: 7. Arendt's Hellenism J. Peter Euben
8. Athens and Rome Jacques Taminiaux
9. Equality and elitism in Arendt Hauke Brunkhorst
Part V. Revolution and Constitution: 10. Arendt's constitutional politics Jeremy Waldron
11. Arendt on revolution Albrecht Wellmer
Part VI. Judgment, Philosophy, and Thinking: 12. Arendt's theory of judgment Maurizio Passerin d'Entreves
13. Arendt on philosophy and politics Frederick M. Dolan
14. Arendt on thinking Richard J. Bernstein.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]