The human condition

English language

Published Dec. 1, 1998

ISBN:: 978-0-226-02598-8

(2 reviews)

The Human Condition, first published in 1958, is Hannah Arendt's account of how "human activities" should be and have been understood throughout Western history. Arendt is interested in the vita activa (active life) as contrasted with the vita contemplativa (contemplative life) and concerned that the debate over the relative status of the two has blinded us to important insights about the vita activa and the way in which it has changed since ancient times. She distinguishes three sorts of activity (labor, work, and action) and discusses how they have been affected by changes in Western history.

34 editions

Fionnáin reviewed The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt

Review of 'The Human Condition' on 'Import'

5 stars

Excellently written philosophy and observations on human life, that explores work art and technology in seamlessly written chapters. Flawless methodology, and although some of the reference points are dated from a book written in 1959, Arendt has presented an observation on the (western) human condition that was not only groundbreaking in its time, but was prophetic of the generations to come.

Alexia

rated it

Feb. 26, 2013