Arendt in crisis: Political thought in between past and future

dc.contributor.author

Norberg, J

dc.date.accessioned

2012-10-24T00:17:51Z

dc.date.issued

2011-12-01

dc.description.abstract

For Hannah Arendt, a crisis occurs when we can no longer rely on the prejudices that ordinarily guide us through the world. Every crisis is, therefore, an occasion to reflect upon tradition. By eroding our shared background beliefe, however, the crisis also weakens our ability to communicate and cooperate with each other. The crisis thus confronts us with the question of what community is possible when we do not have anything in common. Arendt's own answer is found in the community of judgment. Insofar as reflective judgments involve soliciting the potential agreement of others, they confirm that some common ground remains despite the loss of shared prejudices. Indeed, only when we cannot take consensus for granted are we truly attentive to others. By focusing on the tenuous togetherness of crisis, Arendt's work shows us that groups supported by shared values, traditions, and purposes are not necessarily political in nature.

dc.identifier.eissn

1542-4286

dc.identifier.issn

0093-3139

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5919

dc.language.iso

en_US

dc.relation.ispartof

College Literature

dc.relation.journal

College Literature

dc.title

Arendt in crisis: Political thought in between past and future

dc.type

Journal article

duke.description.issue

1

duke.description.volume

38

pubs.begin-page

132

pubs.end-page

149

pubs.issue

1

pubs.organisational-group

Duke

pubs.organisational-group

Germanic Languages

pubs.organisational-group

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

38

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