Amor Mundi

Time as Broken in the Middle

Arendt understands Kafka’s parable, "He," as describing what happens when we think. When we think about anything – and, Arendt is interested in thinking through political questions – the past exerts a force on our thought. But, contrary to expectation, the past is not some ‘burden’ or ‘dead weight’ placed upon the shoulders of the human person. The past is never simply dead, nor even past. It propels thought into the future and battles with it, which, again, contrary to expectation, drives the human person back into the past and seems to want to be rooted in something in the past.

Leaderless Crowds

Recent riots in Britain reveal the complex interplay between political grievances and emotional drivers of collective violence. This analysis challenges simplistic explanations, arguing that the core appeal of riots lies in their ability to foster belonging and power among participants. It highlights the role of misinformation and leaderless crowd dynamics in modern civil unrest.

What would an “Arendtian naturalism” look like?

I have always been intrigued by Arendt’s relationship to materialism and the natural sciences. On a first reading, Arendt seems to be a committed humanist, in the sense that she sees human beings as possessing a distinct set of qualities that are the basis of morality and politics. As a consequence, she is distrustful of observing human affairs through the lenses of the natural sciences, which disregard freedom and spontaneity. This quote, however, shows that things are not so simple.

On Fake Hannah Arendt Quotations

This article discusses a mis-attributed quote to Hannah Arendt circulating on social media, exploring why such alterations occur and their potential consequences. Berkowitz argues that while simplified versions of Arendt's words may increase accessibility, they risk undermining the integrity of her original texts and contribute to a broader cynicism about truth, which Arendt herself warned against in her writings on totalitarianism and the importance of factual reality.

An Independent Press

This article discusses the challenges faced by The New York Times in cultivating a culture of independent journalism among a new generation of reporters, as explained by Executive Editor Joe Kahn. Kahn emphasizes the importance of intentionally building a newsroom culture that values impartiality, resilience, and the willingness to cover difficult stories, while also supporting journalists who face backlash for their work on sensitive issues.

In the midst of darkness

In the 1968 preface of Men in Dark Times, Hannah Arendt invites us to explore the life of some extraordinary human beings that, with their unconventional lives, shed some light when darkness prevailed in history and freedom was not in sight. Seeking the exemplary dimension of deeds and actions of these non-ordinary individuals is a practice common to politics, philosophy, historiography, or poetry, but Arendt’s unique way of doing it has a strong appeal for the reader and it still has it for us now.

A Letter from Roger Berkowitz

I am often asked why Hannah Arendt is so meaningful and important for our times. There are multiple reasons her thinking resonates so deeply across the political spectrum. She lived through a crisis in politics—a period of hell—that feels increasingly like our own. Remarkably, Arendt found a path to resistance not through anger nor violence, but through love of the world which she called understanding. It is the effort to face up to and resist the horrors of the world, Arendt argued, that allows a path to changing the course of the world. 

A New Concept of Freedom

The 2024 Alpine Fellowship in Tuscany, co-sponsored by the Hannah Arendt Center, centered on the theme of "language" and integrated intellectual discussions with holistic activities like yoga and nature immersion. The Fellowship underscores the importance of a strong sense of self for political freedom and character development through thinking, as inspired by Hannah Arendt's philosophy. 

Great Cases Make Bad Law

Roger Berkowitz critiques the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. United States, contending it grants presidents excessive immunity from criminal prosecution, thereby eroding essential checks and balances in American democracy. His analysis cautions against establishing a perilous precedent that undermines accountability for presidential misconduct, posing a significant threat to the core tenets of republicanism and democratic governance.