The Anthem Companion to Hannah Arendt (Anthem Companions to Sociology, 1)

The Anthem Companion to Hannah Arendt offers a unique collection of essays on one of the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers. The companion encompasses Arendt’s most salient arguments and major works – The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Eichmann in Jerusalem, On Revolution and The Life of the Mind. The volume also examines Arendt’s intellectual relationships with Max Weber, Karl Mannheim and other key social scientists. Although written principally for students new to Arendt’s work, The Anthem Companion to Hannah Arendt also engages the most avid Arendt scholar. Cover Front Matter Half-title Series information Title page Copyright information Dedication Table of contents Editors’ Introduction: Arendt’s Critique of the Social Sciences The Purpose and Distinctiveness of This Book A Biographical Sketch Hannah Arendt’s Appraisal of the Social Sciences The critique of Karl Mannheim The originality of totalitarianism The social viewpoint and the triad of activities Politics and appearance Process, causation and explanation Conclusion Notes References Part I Books Chapter 1-5 Chapter 1 Arendt and Totalitarianism Introduction Totalitarianism between the Political and the Social The Book Arendt’s Theory of Totalitarianism Classlessness Organization Ideology The camps Criticisms Totalitarianism Today References Chapter 2 The Human Condition and The Theory of Action Action and Praxis The sociological approach to action Aristotle’s conception Action and politics Arendt’s Projects Return to the Greeks and to Kant The subject Action, Labor and Work What is action? Action and consequences The division The Social and the Political The social versus the political Political action Freedom and influence History and Life The futility of life The polis and history Rise of animal laborans Science and Behavior Man and himself Sociology Conclusion Notes References Chapter 3 Eichmann in Jerusalem: Heuristic Myth and Social Science Occasion and Sources Black Comedy: A Question of Tone Dual Foci Competing Portraits and Narratives Arendt before Jerusalem Ambiguity and Renown Anti-Semite? Sadist? Helpless Cog? A Compelling Fiction Thinking about Thinking No Time to Think: Common Processes, Different Outcomes Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4 “The Perplexities of Beginning”: Hannah Arendt’s Theory of Revolution Introduction 1963: The Most Creative Period in Arendt’s Career Arendt’s Concepts of Modernity and Revolution Three Key Themes in On Revolution Philosophy versus sociology The American versus the French Revolution The perplexities of beginning Anti-intellectual Receptions of an Antisocial Text Arendt and the Civil Rights Movement Note References Chapter 5 The Life of The Mind of Hannah Arendt What’s in the Book Some More on the Life of the Mind Notes References Part II Selected Themes Chapter 6-9 Chapter 6 Hannah Arendt on Thinking, Personhood and Meaning Introduction Thinking and Morality What Is Thinking? What Makes Us Think? Sociological Theories of Thinking and Reflexivity Conclusion Notes References Chapter 7 Explaining Genocide: Hannah Arendt and The Social-Scientific Concept of Dehumanization Making Human Beings, as Human Beings, Superfluous: Hannah Arendt and the Elements of Dehumanization Overcoming Moral Restraints: Hannah Arendt and the Sociology of Dehumanization Overcoming Empathy: Hannah Arendt and the Social Psychology of Dehumanization A Critique of Empathy: Hannah Arendt and the Impersonal Imagination Conclusion: Empathy and Explanation References Chapter 8 Arendt on Power and Violence 1. Regarding Method: Spectators, Phenomenology and Worldliness 2. Makers’ Violence, Actors’ Power and Their Place in the World 3. Concerning Some Current Ideas of “Power” 3.1 Habermas and the normative use of empirical diagnoses 3.2 Lukes and the debate on “power” in the social sciences 4. Conclusion Notes References Chapter 9 The Theory of Totalitarian Leadership Introduction Masses Fascination without Charisma What Do Totalitarian Leaders Do? Mechanisms of Movement Indispensable-Dispensable Leaders Hannah Arendt and Covert Sociology Notes References End Matter References Notes on Contributors Index "The Anthem Companion to Hannah Arendt offers a unique collection of essays on one of the twentieth century's greatest thinkers. Consisting of a substantial introduction and nine chapters, the companion encompasses Arendt's major works -- The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Eichmann in Jerusalem, On Revolution and The Life of the Mind -- and most salient arguments. The volume also examines Arendt's intellectual relationships with Max Weber, Karl Mannheim, David Riesman and other sociologists. Although written principally for students new to Arendt's work, The Anthem Companion to Hannah Arendt is weighty enough to engage the avid Arendt scholar."-- Provided by publisher