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Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of best political writers of the 20th. century. Her book THE ORIGINS OF TOLITARIANISM "put her on the map," and her later works such as EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM: A STUDY IN THE BANALITY OF EVIL got both praise and condemnation. Those who condemned the book probably did not reader. Arendt's RESPONSIBILITHY AND JUDGEMENT is a sort of a continuation of EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM, and Arendt showed insight, careful thinking and a serious warning.

Jerome Kohn's introduction to this book is worth the price of the book. Kohn gave a good account of Arendt's life and development of her scholarship and thought. As Kohn noted, some of the presentations in Arendt's JUDGEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY were written in the midst of the futile Vietnam War. Kohn made the same point that Arendt made that the world's mightiest super power could win a war against a small country who posed no threat to the U.S. As Kohn noted, there was no point in destroying an ancient culture of a small country who was no danger to U.S. citizens.

Arendt commented on student protests during the Vietnam War. When some college authorities wanted to use police to stop peaceful protests, Arendt protested that the kids were students and not hardened criminals. Admittedly some of student protests were not peaceful, but Arendt was aware of what was peaceful and what was not peaceful. Arendt also chided "the intellectual society" to avoid popular views and for these people to think for themselves. What bothered Arendt was too many "intellectuals" were so absorbed by moral theory that they avoided examining reality and using practical thought.

As Arendt and those with good memories knew, the 20th. century was the bloodiest in history. Those living in totalitarianism regimes were sometimes " forced to do wrong." Arendt knew that most people are not saints, and those with rare courage did dissent often at the cost of their lives. After all, most people have the instinct to survive regardless of circumstances. Those few who dissent and protest against evil are either saints or hypocrites. Arendt cited the Danes who peacefully protested the gathering of Jewish refugees. From the Danish monarch to civilians, the Danes wore the Yellow Star which was supposed to assigned only to Jewish people. As Arendt mentioned in her book EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM, the German authorities in defeated Denmark were frustrated and "showed the few timid beginnings of genuine courage."

Another phenomena that Arendt addressed was the naïve slogans and hopes after WW I and WW II. Yet, WW II was followed by a cascade of wars which continue to the present. Arendt expressed concern and sympathy for victims of these wars. Yet, violence has become so common that it is taken as a given and for granted which is a sad commentary. Those whom can be described as war mongers and want war seldom if ever enlist to assume the risks inherent in war. What Arendt alluded to was not what war does to the enemy, whoever that may be at any given moment, but what war does to us-the "victors" if there any.

Arendt returned to Eichmann trial. Eichmann was a minor bureaucrat and not necessarily the monster portrayed by the media. Eichmann's defense was his accusers "had to be there" to understand his situation. Eichmann argued that he did his duty, but Arendt wryly noted that "doing one's duty"can become a crime. Arendt also refuted the concept of collective guilt and commented that when all are guilty, no one is guilty. She also disagreed with notion that there was a historical link from Martin Luther's anti-Jewish views to Hitler even though Hitler quoted Luther's anti-Jewish sentiments. In other words, such notions are too easy and avoid basic truths.

Arendt mentioned thinkers from Plato to Nietzsche. Those who did not read Nietzsche complained about his phrase, "God is dead" did not realize that Nietzsche argued that God had been trivialized by "cheap grace." People avoided religious convictions to "feel comfortable" about their religion or substituted hypocrisy for basic views of good vs. evil. Arendt's views re Nietzsche are interesting.

Another misunderstanding about Arendt was that she was a racist (she was not). Arendt's remarks about public school integration were that opposed integration but that children should not be exposed to a political battle well beyond their control. Parents who were not opposed to integration still had serious concerns about their young children attending public schools with troops present to prevent violence. After all, parents should have a say about their children's education and exposure to such pressure.

Much of Arendt's book dealt with Eichmann and German experience with Jewish people. However, anti-Jewish views were not confined to Germany. Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, France's Action Francaise, the Hungarian experience, and other European movements expressed similar views. Arendt could have taken advantage of Stalin's anti-Jewish bias such as the Doctors' Plot in 1953. Yet, Arendt may be excused in that these essays were written over 40 years ago when such knowledge and data were not fully published.

In spite of the above criticism, Arendt's book is well worth reading which requires time and thought. She raised important questions which the "apprehensively conventional" do not like. Yet, these questions are important in an increasingly indifferent world with people who have short memories and too self absorbed. Readers should also read Arendt's THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM-especially the last section. Also recommended is Arendt's EICHMANN in JERUSALEM.

James E. Egolf

May 13, 2017

Professor Arendt requires thoughtful and careful reading since her mind is working in dialogue with Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Kant, and Nietzsche. She reminds us that rational thought must precede action if civil society is to progress within a democracy. But to achieve Right Reason requires secular study divorced from emotion - a process every individual must master before venturing an opinion or acting within modern organizations. Her vision is reinforced by a native German childhood confronted later by Nazi ideology and a mass society ready to embrace totalitarian conformity in contradiction with Judeo-Christian values and critical thought. Her warning is for us all that democracy carries heavy civic responsibility and all citizens must inform themselves of the issues before moving headlong into action.

Given that none of the editorial reviews on this page contain a table of contents, I decided it may be wise to copy it here:

Introduction by Jerome Kohn
A Note on the Text
Prologue
I. RESPONSIBILITY
Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship
Some Questions of Moral Philosophy
Collective Responsibility
Thinking and Moral Considerations
II. JUDGMENT
Reflections on Little Rock
The Deputy: Guilt by Silence?
Auschwitz on Trial
Home to Roost

The first part deals with somewhat abstract questions, whereas the second is an application of Hannah Arendt's moral and more generally philosophical considerations to real-world situations. The fundamental text contained in this volume is "Some Questions of Moral Philosophy", which is based on four lectures Arendt gave in 1965. In it, Arendt deals with Socrates, Immanuel Kant, Paul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo, and Friedrich Nietzsche while discussing thinking, willing and judging. Also of note is Arendt's examination of Dr. Franz Lucas's case (described in "Auschwitz on Trial"). In a nutshell, this is a very interesting, though somewhat mixed and slightly repetitive, collection of essays, speeches, and lectures by a significant Selbstdenker.

Alexandros Gezerlis

classic

I'd imagine that every political philosopher knows of Hannah Arendt. Born in Germany in 1906, she moved to France and eventually the USA after Hitler's rise to power. She has written numerous books over 3 1/2 decades and she has taught at places like Princeton, Chicago, and Berkeley. She struggles with and argues ultimately against responsibility of many of the common German people who went with the flow or just followed orders. Responsibility must be focused upon those who had authority and committed atrocities - the so called desk top murderers, like Eichmann and Himmler. She questions how we can set ourselves up to place judgment upon these individuals responsible, in part, for such horrific crimes. Included in this text is her presentation on American responsibility for Vietnam and the uprising of individuals against a war of questionable justice ultimately. She's a brilliant speaker and writer, very heavily influenced by the Kantian school. While the vast majority of this text is very readable, there are a few passages that I had to re-read - "did she really say that?" or "what ...". Since Theory of Justice was published, it sort of makes these books obsolete, but, they are, nevertheless, worth while reading for background. I give this text a solid A. It comes highly recommended.

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Hannah Arendt was a genius. Her books are thought provoking and written for the masses to read. A great read.

Awesome.!!!