MUNDO COMUM, RESPONSABILIDADE E EDUCAÇÃO EM HANNAH ARENDT

Abstract

This dissertation aims to analyze the relationship between the common world, responsibility, and education in the thought of Hannah Arendt, emphasizing action and speech in the construction of life stories, the importance of thinking to avoid evil in the world, and of education in forming citizens capable of responsible political action. In The Human Condition (1958), Arendt presents politics as the space of plurality in which each human being reveals their singularity through action and speech in relation to others, while constructing their own life story and contributing to the history of humanity. In Responsibility and Judgment (2004), Arendt further develops the relationship between moral action and personal responsibility in situations where laws and traditions are suspended. The dissertation analyzes the author’s critique of Socrates and Immanuel Kant concerning legality and morality, referring to the case of Adolf Eichmann to illustrate the consequences of unreflective action and emphasizing the importance of thinking as a way of preventing evil in the world, as well as the Socratic “two-in-one” as the essence of thinking and the basis of responsibility. In this context, education, particularly in the essay The Crisis in Education (1958), plays a decisive role in mediating the relationship between the private and the public realms, even in light of the consequences of the loss of authority and tradition and the important mission of preparing citizens to act responsibly in the public sphere, which may lead to a transformation of the world.