The Polemic Meaning of Hannah Arendt’s Dissertation on Saint Augustine

• Main Author: Alexander Markov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Philaret’s Christian Orthodox Institute 2017-08-01
• Series: Вестник Свято-Филаретовского института
• Subjects: arendt; augustine; jaspers; existentialism; love; арендт; августин; ясперс; экзистенциализм; любовь
• Online Access: https://psmb-neos-resources.hb.bizmrg.com/target/sfi/0f36a7197146226301a7afaa571e813bbc80d1c3/%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%A1%D0%A4%D0%98_%D0%92%D1%8B%D0%BF23.28-38.pdf

The technique of “slow reading” of the first pages of Hannah Arendt’s dissertation on St. Augustine shows that the main task of this work is a polemic against psychologism and early existentialism. Externally showing loyalty to her teacher Karl Jaspers, Arendt argues contra a number of his existentialist presumptions to prove that existentialism is merely a particular way of conceptualizing time. Relying on the concept of “acquisition”, Arendt interprets time as a field of the projections of the good; not as an area of experiences and solutions, but as a field of conceptualization of hope and salvation. Thus, under the guise of an existential treatise, Arendt creates a reserve for her future political philosophy as the philosophy of meaningful ethical choice.