Hannah Arendt
Available Summer 2020 | Contact us to pre-order
About the Book
Who the hell is Hannah Arendt? looks at a brilliant, intellectually curious and determined philosopher and political theorist. German by birth, Arendt took the world by storm with her intellectual masterpiece, The Origins of Totalitarianism, and her tireless efforts to reconstruct the nature of political existence. Documenting her life and influences – what made her the person she was – this book then goes on to pick apart her brilliant arguments on totalitarianism, the nature of power and evil, and her epistemological approach.
Chapter 1: Arendt's Life Story
Chapter 2: Influences on Arendt's Thinking
Chapter 3: Conception of Citizenship
Arendt's concept of citizenship was shaped by her love of the Ancient Greek states, her readings on St Augustine and her teachings from Heidegger and Jaspers, but most of all, by her own experience of the terrifying and destabilizing impact of Nazi Germany.
Chapter 4: Theory of Judgement
Moving on from the previous chapter, Arendt's concept of citizenship argued that we must all take on the responsibility to make judgements. Here we explore what this meant, how this played out, and what the consequences are when humans abandon their responsibility to others.
Chapter 5: Theory of Action
Believing that judgement rests upon dialogue with oneself and with others, Arendt believed strongly in the necessity to act upon what one judges to be right. This chapter looks at how action – based on debate and reflection – is what makes us truly human.
About the Author
John Jefferies was born in 1966. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and studied Modern History at Christ Church Oxford. Since 1995 he has taught History and Politics at Warwick School where he is Head of Sixth Form. A regular contributor to Politics Review, John has written and co-written several A Level text books on British and Global Politics. He lives in Leamington Spa with Rachael and their daughters, Henrietta and Emily.
