Arendt Flashcards
(10 cards)
What are the three fundamental conditions of human existence in Arendt’s The Human Condition?
Life: The biological necessity of maintaining the body, tied to labour.
Worldliness: The creation of a durable, artificial world through work.
Plurality: The condition of living among distinct others, realised through political action.
These conditions are historically contingent and subject to change in form and importance over time.
What is Arendt’s hierarchy of human activities?
Labour: Repetitive, necessary for survival; unfree and cyclical.
Work: Produces durable objects; instrumental but not meaningful in itself.
Action: Political engagement; free, unpredictable, and meaningful in itself.
Action is considered the highest form because it expresses individuality and freedom in a shared public world.
How does Arendt’s concept of ‘worldliness’ differ from Heidegger’s notion of ‘being-in-the-world’?
Heidegger sees the world as shaped by individual projects, where others are a threat to authenticity. Arendt views the world as a shared, public space created between people, where plurality is essential for individuality and political life to emerge.
What is Arendt’s critique of Heidegger’s concept of ‘Das Man’?
Heidegger’s ‘Das Man’ represents conformity and inauthenticity. Arendt argues that others are not a threat but a condition for authentic existence, with individuality developing through mutual recognition in a shared world.
What is the significance of political action in Arendt’s philosophy?
Political action allows individuals to appear before others, express themselves, and shape the world. It is the freest and most meaningful activity because it is not instrumental—it is an end in itself, where true individuality is realised.
What are the key features of natural rights according to Arendt?
Natural rights are seen as:
- Inalienable (cannot be taken away)
- Irreducible (not derived from law), 3. Self-imposed (man as source)
- Universal (apply even to a lone individual).
Arendt critiques this view because rights depend on political membership; stateless people cannot claim these rights despite their humanity.
What is the paradox of human rights according to Arendt?
The paradox is that those who most need human rights—stateless individuals—are the ones who cannot claim them, as rights are tied to national citizenship.
Define ‘rightlessness’ in Arendt’s terms.
Rightlessness is a total exclusion from legal and political recognition, involving the loss of legal personhood and exposure to arbitrary power, with no access to due process or state protection.
What does Arendt mean by the ‘loss of a place in the world’?
It refers to the loss of both physical shelter and the social-political structures that allow one to be seen and heard as an equal, preventing participation in political life and recognition as a citizen.
Explain the concept of the ‘right to have rights’.
The ‘right to have rights’ is the right to belong to a political community where one can be recognised and claim other rights. It is foundational because without such belonging, no other rights are accessible.
Arendt emphasises that this community should be civic, not ethnic, and based on mutual recognition.
