内容简介

From the author of Eichmann in Jerusalem and The Origins of Totalitarianism, “a book to think with through the political impasses and cultural confusions of our day” (Harper’s Magazine)

Hannah Arendt’s insightful observations of the modern world, based on a profound knowledge of the past, constitute an impassioned contribution to political philosophy. In Between Past and Future Arendt describes the perplexing crises modern society faces as a result of the loss of meaning of the traditional key words of politics: justice, reason, responsibility, virtue, and glory. Through a series of eight exercises, she shows how we can redistill the vital essence of these concepts and use them to regain a frame of reference for the future. To participate in these exercises is to associate, in action, with one of the most original and fruitful minds of the twentieth century.

作者简介

HANNAH ARENDT was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1906, fled to Paris in 1933, and came to the United States after the outbreak of World War II. She was the editorial director of Schocken Books from 1946 to 1948. She taught at Berkeley, Princeton, the University of Chicago, and The New School for Social Research. Among her other books are The Human Condition, On Revolution, and Th...

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精彩摘录

Thegap,Isuspect,isnotamodernphenomenon,itisperhapsnotevenahistoricaldatumbutiscoevalwiththeexistenceofmanonearth.Itmaywellbetheregionofthespiritor,rather,thepathpavedbythinking,thissmalltrackofnon-timewhichtheactivityofthoughtbeatswithinthetime-spaceofmortalmenandintowhichthetrainsofthought,ofremembranceandanticipation,savewhatevertheytouchfromtheruinofhistoricalandbiographicaltime.Thissmallnon-time-spaceintheveryheartoftime,unliketheworldandthecultureintowhichweareborn,canonlybeindicated,butcannotbeinheritedandhandeddownfromthepast;eachnewgeneration,indeedeverynewhumanbeingasheinsertshimselfbetweenaninfinitepastandaninfinitefuture,mustdiscoverandploddi...

——引自第13页

康德的《判断力批判》中，判断的力量建立在他人潜在同意的基础上，在判断中活跃着的思想过程不像纯粹推理的思想过程那样，是我与我自身而是首先和始终置身于我和其他人的一种想象的交流当中，即使在独自一个人做决定的时候，我也必须最终从想象的交流中，获得他人的认同。从这种潜在的同意中，判断获得了它的特殊有效性。这意味着，一方面，这样的判断必须让自己从“主观私人条件”中摆脱出来，即摆脱些一个人在其私人状态下受自然决定表现出来的癖性偏好，癖性偏好虽然在一个人私下所持意见的范围内合法，却不适合进入市场和缺乏公共领域的有效性。另一方面，这种扩大了的思考方式，作为懂得如何超越个人限制的判断，在严格孤立或与世隔绝的情况下都无法进行；它需要他人的在场，因为它必须站“在他人的位置上”思考，必须考虑其他20人的立场，否则就根本不起作用。就像逻辑要健全就要依赖自我的在那样，判断要有效也要依赖他人的在场。从而判断虽然具有某种特殊的有效性，它的有效性却从来不是普遍的。其有效性要求不能扩展到判断者在考虑时未将自身置于其立场之上的他人。康德说，判断“对每个单独判断的人”有效，但这句话的重点在“判断”上，对于那些不判断的人或不是判断对象在其中呈现的公共领域之成员的人，判断则是无效的。恰恰在康德所指的意义上，判断能力成了一种特殊的政治能力，即不仅从自己的立场上看事物，而且从恰好在场的所有其他人立场上看事物的能力；就这样的判断能让一个人找到他自己在公共领域、在共同世界中的位置而言（这实质上是政治经验中古已有之的明察），它也许是一种人作为政治存在的根本能力。希腊人称这种能力为明智，或明见，并且认为这是使政治家的德性区别于哲学家的智慧的主要特点或者优异之处

——引自章节：第六章文化危機：其社會意義與政治意義