0. Introduction by Amos Elon Flashcards
How has Arendt’s book been misrepresented?
It has been claimed that she blamed the Jews for their failure to resist
What is Zionism?
A movement for the establishment and protection of a Jewish nation
What were Arendt’s views on Zionism?
It has outlived the conditions from which it emerged
What are Arendt’s views on Judeo-Palestinian cooperation?
In favor
What is Arendt’s relationship to postmodernism?
She resisted sweeping theories
What is the banality of evil?
Evil is not only committed by deliberate monsters but, more frequently and more importantly, by the stupid and compliant.
What problem was Arendt trying to address?
The reasons for the total moral collapse of Europe
What was the role of justice in this process?
Persecutors had to uphold justice when no laws were applicable to the situation
What is the evil of stupidity?
Stupidity predisposes people to evil
What were Arendt’s views on the nature of good versus that of evil?
Only good has depth and can be at all radical
What were Arendt’s views on the Judenräte?
She thought them partially culpable for the Holocaust
What was controversial about Eichmann in Jerusalem?
The use of the term “banal” to describe evil was seen as an apology for it, and some thought her characterization of the Judenräte as partially culpable was unfair
What are Arendt’s views on judgement?
“If you say ‘Who am I to judge?’ you’ve already lost”
