Amor Mundi

The weekly newsletter of the Hannah Arendt Center

What is most difficult, writes Arendt, is to love the world as it is. Loving the world means neither uncritical acceptance nor contemptuous rejection, but the unwavering facing up to and comprehension of that which is. The opinions expressed in essays on our site are those of their authors.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

About

Amor Mundi (for love of the world) is an exploration of Arendtian topics delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning. This includes deep dives into the works of Hannah Arendt and the implications of her ideas on the world today. We feature varied, nuanced, and often opposing viewpoints in this non-partisan publication, and brave and provocative ideas that will help you (re)discover the joy of deep thinking and caring about the world.

When you subscribe to the newsletter, you'll also receive first-hand updates on what we’re doing at HAC (conferences, events, workshops, etc.), an Arendt Quote of the Week with in-depth analysis from Arendt scholars from around the world, and highlights of the work being done on campus by our Student Fellows. Be among the first to know about special offers from our partners and upcoming events!

We've been publishing weekly essays here on our website since 2010, and are now transitioning to the publication platform Medium. You can still read for free with links from our email each Sunday! But now you can highlight sections and comment, too!

Browse our Library of Amor Essays on Medium

A note to new Medium users: if you see an offer pop-up, just simply X out to close and continue reading. You can also Follow HAC on Medium and Subscribe to our publications, to receive additional notifications so you don't miss an essay.

The Radical Politics of Joy

"Is Joy really what Arendt wants us to be talking about, amidst the most racist, cruel, and criminal American administration since the Civil Rights era?" So asked one of my favorite former students, protesting the theme of this year's Hannah Arendt Center Conference: JOY: Loving the World in Dark Times.

READ MORE
Civil Disobedience and the Spirit of American Democracy

Hannah Arendt wrote that, “Dissent implies consent, and is the hallmark of free government.” We are at a moment when dissent is required if we are to preserve our freedoms.

READ MORE
Temptations of Tyranny

“If this isn’t tyranny, what is?” So asks Rod Dreher, one of President Trump’s most steadfast intellectual supporters, now increasingly alarmed by the President’s abuses of power.

READ MORE
An Open Letter To My Friends Who Signed “Philosophy for Palestine”

These are dark times as multiple crises are erupting around the world while talk of a global conflagration is heard in many circles. These are also times that try human relationships, friendships, and alliances.

READ MORE

Temptations of Tyranny

Rod Dreher’s conflicted support for President Trump illustrates a broader crisis among intellectual conservatives who fear the "soft totalitarianism" of liberal institutions yet embrace the hard authoritarianism of executive overreach. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s political thought, the essay contends that true freedom is preserved not through charismatic leaders but through the multiplication and decentralization of citizen power. Revitalizing democracy, it argues, requires stubborn, local acts of collective governance rather than the dangerous temptation to concentrate authority in a single figure.

04-27-2025

All Categories

Post, Quote of the Week

The Politics of Kafka

Arendt reconstructs from Kafka's work a writer inspired by a world “in which the actions of man depend on nothing but himself and his spontaneity.”

11-22-2015

Article, Post

Hannah Arendt and the Working Class

We appreciate the annotations Hannah Arendt made to E. P. Thompson's "The Making of the English Working Class" in this week's Library feature.

11-19-2015

Article, Post

Albert Camus on Thinking People Resisting the Executioners

Albert Camus discusses the responsibility of thinking people in a world of victims and executioners in this week's Thoughts on Thinking.

11-17-2015

Post, Quote of the Week

On the Justice of Institutions and of Persons: Impartiality and Dependency in Martha Nussbaum and Hannah Arendt

Arendt scarcely addressed distributive justice, but her reasoning could augment that of Martha Nussbaum, who criticized the liberal model of John Rawls.

11-15-2015

Article, Post

Amor Mundi 11/15/15

In this week's Amor Mundi, we reflect on Arendt's understanding of evil and good in wake of the Paris attacks, scrutinize farmers markets, and much more!

11-15-2015

Article, Post

Hannah Arendt and the Links of a Thinker

Christo Datso shares an image of his personal Arendt library that attempts to convey how every thinker, including Arendt, comes into connection with others.

11-12-2015

Article, Post

William James on the True, the Right, and the Expedient

William James reflects on the true and the right as expedients in the way of our thinking in this week's Thoughts on Thinking.

11-10-2015

Article, Post

Amor Mundi 11/8/15

In this week's Amor Mundi, we explore a culture of 'vindictive protectiveness' at Yale, reflect on the democratic utility of libraries, and much more!

11-08-2015

Post, Quote of the Week

Busy Nobody

While human natality can make freedom appear and disappear, the busy nobody also has the capacity to block the initiative that would manifest human freedom.

11-08-2015