Action or Contemplation. Note on the Relationship between the Thracian Maid to the Angelic Doctor

Abstract

If the opposition between “action and contemplation” seems characteristic of the history of philosophy, it also sums up Hannah Arendt’s personal history and philosophy – the diagnosis of the theoretician of the political practice on her contemporaries being eloquent. But the author of the Human condition invites us to reverse the conjunction. Arendt breaks up deliberately with philosophical tradition and particularly with Thomas Aquinas by making these terms exclusive and choosing to think either action (without contemplation) or contemplation (without action). We would like thus to reflect on the relationship between these two thinkers by examining potential echoes of Summa Theologiae within Arendt’s 1958 essay.

Authors and Affiliations

Cristophe Perrin

Keywords

Related Articles

Aristotelianism and Christology in the 13th century. The problem of the body of Christ in Thomas Aquinas’ latest works

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the problem of the relationship between Aristotelianism and Christology in the XIII-th century, as it appears through the famous problem of the body of Christ dead. This problem, w...

Rationality at the Limits and the Limits of Rationality:The Question of the Integrity and Existence of the Human Species

The purpose of this article is to address the question of our responsibility as human beings, by taking into consideration the intersection between ethics and science. I intend to prove that the issues raised by the exis...

Art, Vision, and the Necessity of a Post-Analytic Phenomenology

Paul Crowther, Phenomenologies of Art and Vision: A Post-Analytic Turn, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013, 208 p.

“Blasphemy” or “groundless imagination”? The battle of theological grievances between Descartes and Malebranche

The goal of this article is to analyze a metaphysical and theological argument between Descartes and Nicolas Malebranche about the relationship between the eternal truths and God. We try to see whether the criticism that...

Truth, Representation and Interpretation: The Popper Case

The aim of this study is to determine several points of reference regarding the way in which Karl Popper built up his philosophical discourse. I locate two specific ways in which Popper interpreted and used ideas belongi...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP155428
  • DOI -
  • Views 96
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Cristophe Perrin (2011). Action or Contemplation. Note on the Relationship between the Thracian Maid to the Angelic Doctor. Meta: Research in Hermeneutics, Phenomenology, and Practical Philosophy, 3(1), 141-156. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-155428