Reason, Mind and Soul in Hannah Arendt

PDF (ελληνικά)
Published: Mar 25, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/ethiki.22743
Keywords:
Hannah Arendt; Reason (Logos); Mind (Nous); Soul (Psyche); Plurality; Phenomenology; The Life of the Mind; Immanuel Kant
Syni Mpoura
Abstract

This article explores Hannah Arendt’s distinct conceptualization of reason (logos), mind (nous), and soul (psyche), primarily as presented in her work The Life of the Mind. The author examines Arendt’s departure from traditional cognitive passivity, presenting the mind instead as an active state of contemplating the world of phenomena, a world guaranteed by the "plurality" of things and living beings. A central focus is Arendt’s sharp distinction between the soul—the private seat of emotions and passions—and the mind, which is the source of intellectual activities and language. The study further analyzes Arendt's engagement with Kantian and Aristotelian thought, particularly the distinction between scientific intellect (verstand) and pure reason (vernunft), and how these faculties relate to the human condition of plurality and the public sphere.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). This license allows others to share and adapt the work, provided that the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal are properly acknowledged.
  2. Authors are permitted and encouraged to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Arendt, Hannah. The Life of the Mind. Vol. 1, Thinking. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1978.
Arendt, Hannah. The Life of the Mind. Vol. 2, Willing. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1978.
Arendt, Hannah. The Promise of Politics. Edited and introduced by Jerome Kohn. New York: Schocken Books, 2005.
Aristotle. Eudemian Ethics [Ηθικά Ευδήμεια]. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics [Ηθικά Νικομάχεία]. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926.
Aristotle. On the Soul [Περί Ψυχής]. Translated by W. S. Hett. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1957.
Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated and edited by Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.