The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt and 'The Final Solution' - Paperback

by Bernard J. Bergen (Author)

This highly original book is the first to explore the political and philosophical consequences of Hannah Arendt's concept of 'the banality of evil, ' a term she used to describe Adolph Eichmann, architect of the Nazi 'final solution.' According to Bernard J. Bergen, the questions that preoccupied Arendt were the meaning and significance of the Nazi genocide to our modern times. As Bergen describes Arendt's struggle to understand 'the banality of evil, ' he shows how Arendt redefined the meaning of our most treasured political concepts and principles-freedom, society, identity, truth, equality, and reason-in light of the horrific events of the Holocaus

Author Biography

Bernard J. Bergen is professor emeritus of psychiatry and sociology at the Darmouth Medical School and Dartmouth College. Among his books is Illumination of Darkness: Freud and the Social Bond.