Amor Mundi: Explorations in the Faith and Thought of Hannah Arendt (Martinus Nijhoff Philosophy Library, 26)

The title of our collection is owed to Hannah Arendt herself. Writing to Karl Jaspers on August 6, 1955, she spoke of how she had only just begun to really love the world and expressed her desire to testify to that love in the title of what came to be published as The Human Condition: "Out of gratitude, I want to call my book about political theories Arnor Mundi. "t In retrospect, it was fitting that amor mundi, love of the world, never became the title of only one of Arendt's studies, for it is the theme which permeates all of her thought. The purpose of this volume's a- ticles is to pay a critical tribute to this theme by exploring its meaning, the cultural and intellectual sources from which it derives, as well as its resources for conte- porary thought and action. We are privileged to include as part of the collection two previously unpu- lished lectures by Arendt as well as a rarely noticed essay which she wrote in 1964. Taken together, they engrave the central features of her vision of amor mundi. Arendt presented "Labor, Work, Action" on November 10, 1964, at a conference "Christianity and Economic Man:Moral Decisions in an Affluent Society," which 2 was held at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. The idea of the present sixth volume in the Boston Col­ lege Studies in Philosophy entitled'Contemporary Chinese Philosophy'was conceived by the editor several years ago, before the current resumption of Chinese­ American political and economic amity occurred offi­ cially. Several preceding volumes in this series had studied various aspects of Marxism especially Soviet Marxism. Possibilities for dialogue between Christians and Marxists were discussed not only in the series but elsewhere too in various philosophical journals and books through the sixties and seventies. It was only a natural outcome then to wonder about the same possi­ bilities in regard to Chinese Marxism. Hence I sent off to many potential contributors - scholars in the field - the following proposal seeking papers for a volume on Contemporary Chinese Philosophy. The themes that should constitute the content of the articles were as follows: 1. How rigidly do contemporary Chinese adhere to Marxism-Leninism? Naturally this means principally the educated persons, but it might include the non-academic segment of the peop. le. By Marxism-Leninism here, J mean the contemporary Soviet brand. Hence, I do not. mean Marx's early writings or the developments of people like Kolakowski. 2. Are they constrained to think in a kind of hori­ zontal materialism or are they open to a species of transcendence that might include the God problem or a belief in another life after this one on earth? 3. This second volume of the Boston College Studies in Philosophy com­ memorates the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx. This dedication bespeaks the evolution permeating the entire world today, not only in the sense of a development of ideas but more especially of the inner and sincere quest for peace intensifying in the hearts of all men. We Christians rejoice in the drive onward toward the fulfillment of peace on earth. We are sorry, however, that it is so late in Christian history and that it received its impulse more from the fear of nuclear armaments than from the development of Christian ideas. Nonetheless, here in the midst of so much bewilderment, we an optimistic note in the realization that these ideas can now, touch at long last, offer hope for a peaceful future. Strange as it may seem, there is currently a new interest in the philosophy of Marxism. This stems in part from the renewed study of the writings of the young Marx and a concentration on that aspect of his work which is more philosophical than politico-economic, such as is more prominent in the later Das Kapital. But even more, our interest in Marxism has occurred because of what has happened to the con­ temporary Marxists themselves. First of all, after Stalin's time a certain new openness, not yet perfect but nonetheless real, has developed in Russia to the benefit of scholars. Hegel once said that philosophy is the "world stood on its head" and Karl Marx credited his own philosophic genius with setting the Hegel ian world right side up again. But both of these intellectual Atlases of the philosophical sphere that hid before our mind's eye a symbol bears further reflection. Philosophy down the ages has always involved at least two elements, first, the universe of being as its objective pole and second, man gazing into this crystallic sphere as the subjective pole. The "world" of Hegel and Marx and of most philosophers can be interpreted to mean the world we know and live in and about which all philosophers wonder. Thus for the philosopher - whoever he be - the concern of his interest is not limited to any particular segment of reality and no thing is off-limits to the beams of his mental radar. Yet this scope seems to many too vast and proud an enterprise. The philosopher seems to leap upon his horse and ride off in all directions at once. He is the day dreamer who indulges in fantasy and escapes from the world of practical concern and anxiety. On the other hand the reflective person must concede that it is the ideas ofthe philosophers more than the strategems of the generals that have shaped history and destinies Front Matter....Pages i-xi The Faith of Hannah Arendt: Amor Mundi and its Critique — Assimilation of Religious Experience....Pages 1-28 Labor, Work, Action....Pages 29-42 Collective Responsibility....Pages 43-50 The Deputy : Guilt by Silence?....Pages 51-58 Enspirited Words and Deeds: Christian Metaphors Implicit in Arendt’s Concept of Personal Action....Pages 59-80 Elusive Neighborliness: Hannah Arendt’s Interpretation of Saint Augustine....Pages 81-113 Contemplative in Action....Pages 115-133 Natality, Amor Mundi and Nuclearism in the Thought of Hannah Arendt....Pages 135-156 Hannah Arendt’S Constitutional Thought....Pages 157-185 The Banality of Virtue....Pages 187-218 Back Matter....Pages 219-221 Bazhenov, L. Matter And Motion. -- Il'enkov, E. The Universal. -- Batishchev, H. The Problem Of The Universal: Its Historico-cultural Meaning. -- Oizerman, T. Determinism And Freedom. -- Drobnitskii, O. The Problem Of Conscience In Moral Philosophy. -- Gorskii, D. The Meaning Of Semiotic Expressions And The Criteria Validating The Introduction Of Higher-level Abstractions (universals) Into Science. Edited By Frederick J. Adelmann. Includes Bibliographies And Bibliographical Footnotes. The faith of Hannah Arendt / James Bernauer Labor, work, action / Hannah Arendt Collective responsibility / Hannah Arendt The deputy / Hannah Arendt Enspirited words and deeds / Timothy Roach Elusive neighborliness / Patrick Boyle Contemplative in action / William J. Richardson Natality, amor mundi, and nuclearism in the thought of Hannah Arendt / Patricia Bowen Moore Hannah Arendt's constitutional thought / Robert Burns The banality of virtue / Francis X. Winters. This volume is the fourth of aseries of the Boston College Studies in Philosophy. Thus the topics discussed in the present volume emphasize the realism of contemporary Marxists as opposed to a trend toward subjectivity that is manifested in much that emanates from existential and analytical schools. The idea of the present sixth volume in the Boston Col lege Studies in Philosophy entitled "Contemporary Chinese Philosophy" was conceived by the editor several years ago, before the current resumption of Chinese American political and economic amity occurred offi cially. This present volume of the Boston College Studies in Philosophy presents thematically a commentary on the articles that appeared in the preceding issue of this series. It seems evident to anyone giving thought to the matter, that at the root of contemporary social ruptures lies an attack on the theory and practice of authority. Edited By Frederick J. Adelmann. Includes Bibliographical References.