Chapter 1 - New Words

Question 1

sempiternal

Answer 1

“Sempiternal” is an adjective that means “eternal” or “everlasting,” typically referring to something that is unending, perpetual, or timeless.

Sentence: The beauty of the night sky, with its countless stars twinkling in the darkness, seems almost sempiternal, as if it has existed unchanged for eons.

Question 2

res cogitans

Answer 2

“Res cogitans” is a Latin phrase that translates to “thinking thing” or “cognizing thing.” It is a term used in philosophy, particularly associated with the philosopher René Descartes. In his work, Descartes made a fundamental distinction between two types of substances: “res cogitans” and “res extensa.”

“Res cogitans” (thinking thing) refers to the mental or thinking substance. It encompasses consciousness, thoughts, beliefs, and all mental activities. According to Descartes, the mind or soul is a thinking thing, and it is distinct from the physical world (res extensa).

“Res extensa” (extended thing) refers to the physical or extended substance, which includes the material world, including objects, space, and everything that can be measured in terms of extension, size, and location.

Arendt notes the fallacy in Descartes’ Cogito me cogitare ergo sum as residing in how the res cogitans does not become manifest until its products (cogitationes) are made manifest via speech, which presupposes auditors, which in turn means that this is not a self-evident proof of the certainty of one’s existence; it still “falls prey” to the “crutch” of needing to depend on “unreliable” external phenomena.

Question 3

periagōgē (περιαγωγή)

Answer 3

Literally, “a turning around”. “Periagoge” is a term used in philosophy and refers to a type of philosophical argument or induction that draws conclusions based on examples or specific instances. It involves reasoning from individual cases or observations to a more general or universal principle.

Arendt refers to “Plato’s periagōgē” as an example of the primacy of appearance over being; whatever constructs are created by the mind in thinking “take clues” from something present in the world of senses.

Question 4

a-lētheia (ἀλήθεια)

Answer 4

Truth or reality. “That which is disclosed” - Heidegger. Truth must also “appear” - it may be conceived of as a higher order of phenomenon w/r/t, e.g., a sense experience or particular appearance in the world. It must also “appear” because it cannot be communicated until it takes some “visible”, discernible form.

Question 5

Anstrengung des Begriffs

Answer 5

Hegel’s concept of “Anstrengung des Begriffs” is typically translated to “the effort of the concept” or “the labor of the concept”, and speaks to effort involved in the dialectical nature of his theory on how ideas evolve.

Arendt relates the phrase to the thinking activity in her claim that the mind’s search expects that something will appear to it, another argument for the primacy of appearance.

Question 6

Eleatic philosophy

Answer 6

Eleatic philosophy is characterized by its monistic metaphysical view, its rejection of the reality of change, and its focus on the primacy of reason and logic in understanding the true nature of reality. Parmenides and Zeno are its two main representatives.