Yıl:2017   Cilt: 7   Sayı: 2   Alan: Kamu Yönetimi

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  3. ID: 77

Mehmet KANATLI

The Concept of Freedom in Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought

Arendt argues that the concept of freedom has been misunderstood and distorted by many philosophers until the time of her writing. By examining the history of freedom in political theory Arendt problematizes the notion of freedom and strives to define ‘real freedom’ which goes beyond classical definitions of freedom in terms of negative and positive freedom in political theory. This paper is chiefly and simply concerned with examining how Arendt formulates the notion of freedom within the context of political theory. To this aim, the paper consists of three parts. While the first part of the study gives a short analytical introduction of the Arendtian understanding of politics, the second part lays out what freedom means for Arendt by comparing it to the classical understandings of freedom in political theory. In conclusion, the paper argues that even though Arendt's notion of freedom enables one to go beyond the classical definitions of freedom in certain respects, a number of its flaws hinder it from surpassing the state of alienation which Arendt associates with the modern times.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Labor, Alienation, Vita Activa, Vita Contemplativa, Freedom


The Concept of Freedom in Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought

Arendt argues that the concept of freedom has been misunderstood and distorted by many philosophers until the time of her writing. By examining the history of freedom in political theory Arendt problematizes the notion of freedom and strives to define ‘real freedom’ which goes beyond classical definitions of freedom in terms of negative and positive freedom in political theory. This paper is chiefly and simply concerned with examining how Arendt formulates the notion of freedom within the context of political theory. To this aim, the paper consists of three parts. While the first part of the study gives a short analytical introduction of the Arendtian understanding of politics, the second part lays out what freedom means for Arendt by comparing it to the classical understandings of freedom in political theory. In conclusion, the paper argues that even though Arendt's notion of freedom enables one to go beyond the classical definitions of freedom in certain respects, a number of its flaws hinder it from surpassing the state of alienation which Arendt associates with the modern times.

Keywords: Labor, Alienation, Vita Activa, Vita Contemplativa, Freedom


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