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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A rather interesting outlook on life! Arendt has a way with language which is precise in a way which serves her purpose. Her observations on life is rather stark as well, which helps her arguments. The only criticism I had would probably be the bias she has in terms of building her arguments on certain limited definitions. Otherwise, it was an insightful read.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
“What I propose in the following is a reconsideration of the human condition from the
vantage point of our newest experiences and our most recent fears. This, obviously, is a matter of
thought, and thoughtlessness—the heedless recklessness or hopeless confusion or complacent
repetition of ‘truths’ which have become trivial and empty—seems to me among the outstanding
characteristics of our time. What I propose, therefore, is very simply: it is nothing more than to
think what we are doing.” (Page, 5)
I’ve been seriously reading Hannah Arendt for about a decade, and I first read The Human Condition in 2023 through a class at the Brooklyn Institute of Social Research taught by Samantha Rose Hill. (Do subscribe on https://substack.com/@samantharosehill). I picked up the book again in 2025 in the aftermath of the second Trump election because Professor Rose said it helped her understand the current moment more the more obviously applicable On Totalitarianism. On second read, THC remains a timely masterpiece, and I found layers of understanding I had missed before.
THC is a intellectual tour de force that explores the meaning and value of human different types activity in the modern world and how our thoughts on those activities have changed since antiquity. Arendt is not a conventional philosopher who offers abstract theories or “to-do” lists for actions. Rather, she is a political thinker who analyzes the historical and cultural forces that shape our lives and our choices.
The Human Condition is not quite a sequel to her previous work on The Origins of Totalitarianism, where she examined the rise and fall of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Instead, it stands as a complement to it. While The Origins of Totalitarianism is about the loss of freedom and dignity under totalitarian regimes, The Human Condition is about the possibility of preserving and enhancing freedom and dignity in democratic societies and the forces that make freedom/dignity so difficult. It is a rigorous and profound book synthesizing philosophy, political theory, science, cultural criticism, history, and probably several more genre’s I’m missing. Arendt does not cater to popular tastes or trends. THC is not an inaccessible book, but it is not pop philosophy either. The book is not an easy read, but it’s readable even to those without a background in philosophy or critical theory. (I have no formal learning in any of those subjects). It demands your attention and reflection, but it is also rewarding and enlightening for those who are willing to engage with it. The book acts both as example of the type of critical but open thinking that Arendt espouses in the book while forcing the reader to do the same.
The human condition is that we are all born into a world we did not make. We need others and little beyond mere survival can be done without them. The focus of The Human Condition is the distinction between three types of human activity: labor, work, and action. And how our valuations of those categories have changed. Labor is the biological process of sustaining life, such as eating, sleeping, and reproducing. Work is the artificial process of creating and using things, such as tools, buildings, and art. Action is the political process of interacting with others, such as speaking, persuading, and cooperating. It is through Action that we ultimate create something new, something lasting that transcends its use value. As such, while we are conditioned by the world, we are not determined by it. Arendt argues that each type of activity has its own value and purpose, but that modern society has distorted and devalued them.
According to Arendt, labor was once seen as a necessary but lowly activity that was performed by slaves or servants. Work was once seen as a noble and creative activity that was performed by craftsmen or artists. Action was once seen as a glorious and heroic activity that was performed by citizens or leaders. However, with the rise of capitalism, industrialization, and consumerism, labor has become the dominant and oppressive activity that consumes most of our time and energy. Work has become a standardized and alienated activity that produces disposable and meaningless things. Action has become a marginalized and trivialized activity that lacks public space and significance.
Arendt warns that this situation threatens our freedom and dignity as human beings. She contends that we are more than mere animals who need to survive and consume. We are also more than mere producers who need to create and use. We are also political beings who need to appear and act in front of others. We are who we are when we reveal ourselves to others through our words and deeds. We need the freedom to express ourselves and to engage with others in meaningful ways. We need the public realm where we can share our opinions and perspectives, where we can cooperate and compete, where we can celebrate and mourn.
However, maintaining this freedom is not easy or natural. What has made Arendt “best seller” after 2016 was her analyses how the forces of mass culture, technology, extraction capitalism has made slide into totalitarianism easier than we think. Arendt’s worry of trends feels largely like the world we live in now. Capitalism that requires so much human capital to keep going that work as collapsed into labor needed to produce a constant flow of consumable goods that need to be immediately replenished by more labor. Technology has allowed us to produce more but has not lessened our burdens or increased our time for work and action. Instead, technology has allowed us to consume more and thus the need to labor more. And technology has broken down the walls between private and public creating a social realm where our private lives are quantified and sold. (Arendt didn’t coin the term social media, but she got what was going to happen. The quantification of lives, science that focuses on universal laws, the technology whose functioning we no longer understand mean that the perspective of the world is no longer human.
This description makes THC seem like a depressing read. That’s not my take. The Human Condition is a thrilling but challenging book. It paints a picture of a flourishing dynamic life for individuals in a society where all are valued. It is full of possibility for creation of something new and unexpected from each of us. Yet, Arendt does not offer easy lessons or simple advice. And she is not optimistic that we can overcome the trends that work against the best life for humans. It invites us to think critically and creatively about ourselves and our world. It challenges us to question our assumptions and values. It inspires us to act responsibly and passionately for our common good.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Aku milih buku ini karena ngira bakal kaya The Social Animal, lagi kangen dan butuh topik psikologi, sosial sains, dan ilmu perilaku(?) manusia. Ternyata ga sama sekali, kecele sama judulnya. The Human Condition membahas filosofi sistem kerja, politik, dan perburuhan. Kalau The Social Animal membahas manusia sebagai individu, dan interaksinya dengan individu lain, The Human Condition membahas jati manusia sebagai populasi, dan interaksinya dengan kebutuhan. Not a familiar topic at all for me and my head's spinning most of the time trying to decode the complex ideas that Arendt churned without mercy here. I think I got some.. of the big ideas? But trying to follow her train of thought that connects each of those is exhausting. Walaupun begitu, aku juga buruh. Makin dibaca makin relate, banyak bagian yang jleb.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
