Arendt: A Guide for the Perplexed Book

Abbreviations ix

Introduction 1

1 Totalitarianism and the Banality of Evil 9

Antisemitism and Imperialism 11

Totalitarianism 16

Totalitarianism, Nature and History 22

The Banality of Evil 27

2 Philosophical Thought and the Human Condition 34

Philosophy and Politics 35

The Vita Activa 41

Modern Alienation and the Social 49

3 Freedom and Practical Politics 58

Freedom 59

Power and Violence 64

Foundation, Authority and Tradition 68

Arendt and Practical Politics 73

4 The Life of the Mind and Political Judgment 80

Thinking and Politics 81

Willing and the Philosophical Tradition 87

Political Judgment 93

5 Arendt's Critics 105

The Social 106

Morality 109

Elitism 112

Heidegger 114

Little Rock and American Race Issues 120

Feminism 124

Jewish Thought 127

Notes 138

Bibliography 150

Index 153