The Life Of The Mind

Arendt begins by separating herself from the philosophical tradition, claiming that she does not consider herself a professional thinker. Instead, she is rooted in the world of appearances and worldly matters. Her preoccupation with thinking first began when observing the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. Arendt’s observation of the senior Nazi leader’s testimony caused her to question the nature of evil. She determined that evil is entirely unoriginal: It merely uses a preproduced language and exhibits an absence of thinking: “Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting us against reality, that is, against the claim on our thinking” (4). As Arendt started to understand evil as something that is devoid of thinking, she was led to a new question: Are morality and thinking intrinsic?

In her original report of the trial and what Arendt famously called “the banality of evil,” she looked at vita activa, particularly political action, and the role it plays in human life. The Life of the Mind looks at the concept’s counterpoint—vita contemplativa—and examines the purpose and function of thinking.