Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem”
The starting point of this article lies in the idea, defended by Hannah Arendt, according to which only goodness can be radical, while evil is merely banal. The idea of a banality of evil is present in Arendt’s work Eichmann in Jerusalem, although it is explicitly not presented as a general theory o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Open Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2022-0259 |
| _version_ | 1797659584471498752 |
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| author | Cibotaru Veronica |
| author_facet | Cibotaru Veronica |
| author_sort | Cibotaru Veronica |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The starting point of this article lies in the idea, defended by Hannah Arendt, according to which only goodness can be radical, while evil is merely banal. The idea of a banality of evil is present in Arendt’s work Eichmann in Jerusalem, although it is explicitly not presented as a general theory on evil as such – it is more particularly in her correspondence with Gershom Scholem that one can find this specific distinction between evil and goodness mentioned. How is this distinction to be understood? This article proposes the idea that such a distinction has to be construed on an ontological level: evil is ontologically deficient, since it does not take hold in a specific capacity of human beings, which would be what Hannah Arendt calls the demonic evil, but in the absence of thinking, i.e. in the absence of a specific human faculty. Conversely, only goodness expresses a creative human faculty, which is precisely thinking, and which, following Hannah Arendt, can be fully realized only through a political, collective dimension. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:17:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a64c340e68240ebb4465fc4615b34e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2543-8875 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:17:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a64c340e68240ebb4465fc4615b34e82023-10-16T06:06:50ZengDe GruyterOpen Philosophy2543-88752023-10-01619320010.1515/opphil-2022-0259Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem”Cibotaru Veronica0Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumThe starting point of this article lies in the idea, defended by Hannah Arendt, according to which only goodness can be radical, while evil is merely banal. The idea of a banality of evil is present in Arendt’s work Eichmann in Jerusalem, although it is explicitly not presented as a general theory on evil as such – it is more particularly in her correspondence with Gershom Scholem that one can find this specific distinction between evil and goodness mentioned. How is this distinction to be understood? This article proposes the idea that such a distinction has to be construed on an ontological level: evil is ontologically deficient, since it does not take hold in a specific capacity of human beings, which would be what Hannah Arendt calls the demonic evil, but in the absence of thinking, i.e. in the absence of a specific human faculty. Conversely, only goodness expresses a creative human faculty, which is precisely thinking, and which, following Hannah Arendt, can be fully realized only through a political, collective dimension.https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2022-0259hannah arendtevilgoodnessbanality of evilontologyphenomenologykantlevinas |
| spellingShingle | Cibotaru Veronica Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” Open Philosophy hannah arendt evil goodness banality of evil ontology phenomenology kant levinas |
| title | Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” |
| title_full | Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” |
| title_fullStr | Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” |
| title_short | Banal Evil – Radical Goodness. Reflection on the 60th Anniversary of “Eichmann in Jerusalem” |
| title_sort | banal evil radical goodness reflection on the 60th anniversary of eichmann in jerusalem |
| topic | hannah arendt evil goodness banality of evil ontology phenomenology kant levinas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2022-0259 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cibotaruveronica banalevilradicalgoodnessreflectiononthe60thanniversaryofeichmanninjerusalem |