How does Plato’s allegory of the cave influence Arendt’s view of the philosopher’s retreat from appearances? How can Being and appearance be understood in contemporary applications of science and philosophy?

What is “the banality of evil” as it is defined by Hannah Arendt? How does her definition of evil compare to the perspectives of other thinkers and historians? How can Arendt’s conception of evil as a type of thoughtlessness be used to understand modern issues and events?

Why is Descartes’s philosophy both a triumph and a disaster in Arendt’s account? Compare his ideas about the self and perception to Arendt’s. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each thinker’s conception?

How does Arendt position plurality and individualism in her work? Can thinking ever be fully private, or is it always connected to plurality? What other philosophers utilize a framework of plurality? How does their work relate to Arendt’s?

How does Hannah Arendt’s biographical context impact her theories? How does The Life of the Mind build on, or diverge from, her work in The Human Condition?

Analyze the role of willing in Arendt’s work. How does it relate to the world of appearances and morality? How does it influence her conceptions of freedom?

Using Arendt’s brief notes on judging throughout the work, how might judgment represent the final part of her overall thesis? What is the role of judgment in morality, and what is its relationship to both thinking and willing?

How might Arendt’s complex relationship with Martin Heidegger influence her critique of philosophers who retreat from the political world? Which parts of Heidegger’s work remain in Arendt’s ideas, and which parts does Arendt abandon?