HANNAH ARENDT’S PHENOMENOLOGY OF EVIL

UDC 130.2

 

Vroublevskaya-Toker Tatiana Ivanovna – PhD (Philosophy), Assistant Professor, the Department of Philosophy of Culture. Belarusian State University (4, Nezavisimosti Ave., 220030, Minsk, Republic of Belarus). E-mail: tokerti@bsu.by

 

 

Key words: Hannah Arendt, evil, banality of evil, radical evil, ethics, phenomenological method, phenomenology of evil.

For citation: Vroublevskaya-Toker T. I. Hannah Arendt’s phenomenology of evil. Proceedings of BSTU, issue 6, History, Philosophy, 2024, no. 1 (281), pp. 149–154 (In Russian). DOI: 10.52065/2520-6885-2024-281-28.

 

Abstract

The article examines the philosophical ethical approach to the problem of evil in the works of Hannah Arendt, characterized by the following features: the use of phenomenological methodology with the consistent identification of individual manifestations of evil, which show themselves to the observer, and critical analysis as a method of separating all that does not allow the phenomenon of evil to be fully represented in clarity; the introduction of two concepts “radical evil”, and “banal evil”, to describe the phenomenon of evil; highlighting a number of properties and qualities of personality and social relations, which together constitute the condition for transforming evil into an everyday, familiar phenomenon, devoid of acute emotional assessments and not requiring special practices for its eradication. The purpose of the article is to present a model of social relations that allows for the unnoticed spread of evil as an ordinary, familiar, everyday, banal state of affairs. In accordance with the stated goal, the following model is revealed: the type of connection between social groups and members of the community excludes the possibility of responsible behavior of individuals and groups, the purpose of any social action is recognized as order, the practices of allegory and figurative expressions hide the real evil in actions and decisions, the participants in these relations are denied abilities of critical thinking, they exist on two levels – as participants of public and everyday private practices, while their actions and decisions are not differentiated in accordance with these types of practices.

 

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15.03.2024