56 pages • 1 hour read
The Life Of The Mind
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Volume 1, Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Volume 1, Part 1: “Appearance”
Volume 1, Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “The World’s Phenomenal Nature”
Arendt addresses the phenomenological nature of human existence through humans’ relationship with appearance. She argues that existence is comprised of appearances, and human experience requires the spectating of these appearances.
However, humans are also appearances and can be perceived: “[N]othing that is, insofar as it appears, exists in the singular; everything that is is meant to be perceived by somebody. Not Man but men inhabit this planet. Plurality is the law of the earth” (19). The sheer volume of available appearances means that every animal lives a distinctly unique life with a unique set of experiences and appearances. Arendt compares living to being an actor. Living is to appear to others and participate in the play of the world.
Volume 1, Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “(True) Being and (Mere) Appearance: The Two-World Theory”
To reach a level of understanding, philosophers believe they must move beyond the world of appearances. Arendt cites Plato’s cave as a metaphorical example of how it is believed that appearances limit humans’ access to truth. In this model, existence is divided into two parts: Appearances, and the hidden truth beneath them. However, even philosophers cannot escape the full weight of appearances. They may enter a realm in which they look beneath and beyond, but they must always re-enter it: “The primacy of
