FERRUCCIO FOCHER

Il liberalismo critico di Hannah Arendt

N. 167

Summary — No doubt that Hannah Arendt is a liberal political thinker. But what is the character of her liberalism?

As liberalism of the past was a reply to the challenge of absolutism and democratism, the liberalism of H. Arendt must be seen as a reply to the unprecedented challenge of totalitarianism. If we think that totalitarianism meant isolation of man, and annihilition of thinking, we understand why H. Arendt conceived politics as the realm of communication, and thinking and judging, not only as expression, but also as defence of freedom. Her work The Life of the Mind deals with the conditions of genuine politics, and can be interpreted as a Critique of Political Reason.

Indeed, H. Arendt is under the influence of Kant, but it is no matter about her kantian orthodoxy, because her kantian reading, according to her interpretation of our "fragmented Past", is consciously rather free.

Last pages of this paper deal with arendtian interpretation of Sokrates as philosopher-citizen, who demonstrated how much thinking and judging are worth for political freedom.