Book contents
- Arendt on the Political
- Arendt on the Political
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 On Arendt
- Chapter 2 A Way of Thought
- Chapter 3 A Pure Concept of the Political
- Chapter 4 Thinking before Theory
- Chapter 5 Classical Political Philosophy
- Chapter 6 Rethinking the Classical Legacy
- Chapter 7 On Politics and Revolution
- Conclusion: The Political Today
- Works Cited
- Index
Chapter 7 - On Politics and Revolution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 October 2019
- Arendt on the Political
- Arendt on the Political
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 On Arendt
- Chapter 2 A Way of Thought
- Chapter 3 A Pure Concept of the Political
- Chapter 4 Thinking before Theory
- Chapter 5 Classical Political Philosophy
- Chapter 6 Rethinking the Classical Legacy
- Chapter 7 On Politics and Revolution
- Conclusion: The Political Today
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
The last chapter lays out Arendt’s interpretation of the American Revolution and her reading of the Declaration of Independence. She argued that--in the absence of established governments--the American colonists had to govern themselves, and the practical experience of self-government led them to non-theoretical but authentic insights into the nature of power and authority. But instead of rethinking traditional theoretical concepts in light of their experiences, they misconceived their experiences by forcing them into the framework of traditional theoretical concepts. So there was a tension between the implicit insights and the explicit theories of the colonists, Arendt argued: “the old understanding of power and authority...led the new experience of power to be channeled into concepts which had just been vacated.” This tension between implicit insight and explicit theory runs through the Declaration of Independence. Arendt’s reading goes beyond Jefferson’s explicit claims in order to bring to light a non-theoretical but authentic understanding of political power and authority implicit in the text of the Declaration.
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- Arendt on the Political , pp. 190 - 262Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019