Hannah Arendt — Quote from The Human Condition
“Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think.”
The Human Condition (1958)
Concepts: freedom, totalitarianism, praxis
Resonant Quotes
- “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generatin...” — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed Freire's emphasis on dialogue as essential for critical thinking directly addresses Arendt's concern about tyranny's ...
- “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free tha...” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Both insist freedom demands action rather than mere thought — Arendt in political contexts, Camus as existential rebe...
- “There is no such thing as a neutral educational process. Education either fun...” — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed Both recognize that education and thought are never neutral — under tyranny, thinking is harder (Arendt), and educati...
- “In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us: Make us you...” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor passage perfectly illustrates Arendt's point by showing how people willingly surrender ...
- “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted...” — George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Arendt's observation about tyranny suppressing thought finds its perfect complement in Orwell's identification of bas...
- “The lust for power is not rooted in strength but in weakness. It is the expre...” — Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom Power rooted in weakness (Fromm) and the ease of action under tyranny (Arendt) both reveal how unfreedom masquerades ...
- “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” — James Joyce, Ulysses Joyce's desire to awake from history's nightmare and Arendt's observation about thought under tyranny both describe c...
- “To be truly visionary we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality...” — bell hooks, Feminism Is for Everybody Arendt's observation about tyranny's suppression of thoughtful action finds its counterpoint in hooks' call for imagi...