Tag Archives: Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil

Reluctant Inferences

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Abigail

This is the evening when I usually pen the weekly essay for “Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column.” Till I take pen in hand, I never know exactly what I’m going to write. Often, I don’t even know the topic! So … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, bad faith, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, Childhood, Christianity, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Eternity, Ethics, ethnicity, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Fashion, Female Power, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, Guilt and Innocence, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modern Women, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, Racism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, terrorism, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged academic presentations, Adolf Eichmann, American common sense, American intellectual openness, American Political Science Association, anti-Jewish insults, anti-semitism, APSA, Argentina, Bettina Stangneth's Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer, bigoted words, collegial friendships, contemporary nihilism, contemporary reductionism, contemporary skepticism and cynicism, contrived writing, covert subtext, creative inspiration, creative thinkers, creatively inspired writing, deliberate ambiguity, denouncing while justifying, denying a people's value, disguised insults, divine message, duty vs convenience, Eichmann's Argentine transcripts, erasing a people, Eric Voegelin, Eric Voegelin and Jews, Eric Voegelin Society, Eric Voegelin's Order and History, Eric Voegelin's Israel and Revelation, European intellectual systems, EVS, fashionable opinions, genocide, good neighbors, good vs evil, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, hidden message, Holocaust survivor, intellectual refinement, Jewish farmers, Jews and Judaism, know it all, losing friends, nazis in Roumania, philosophy of history, playing with evil, political science, pre-exilic post-exilic and post-Biblical Judaism, prejudicial language, pro-nazi informers, rationales for genocide, religion of Israel, Roumania, saying it and taking it back, significant coincidences, spirituality and history, strategically elusive, strategy of now you see it now you don't, stream of consciousness, theology of contempt, truthful writing, Voegelin escaping Gestapo, Voegelin targeted by nazis, Voegelin's anti-nazism, Voegelin's Vienna circle, words with consequences, world history, writing ambiguously, Yom ha Shoah | Leave a comment

My Therapist is a Horse

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Abigail

My Therapist is a Horse By that I don’t mean that it’s healthy for me to relax and do something different, rather than “think” all the time. I mean Cali [aka California], a tall pinto, is my therapist. Last Friday, … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, beauty, books, bureaucracy, Chivalry, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Masculinity, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, nineteenth-century, novels, Ontology, Oppression, Past and Future, Phenomenology of Mind, Philosophy, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Roles, Romance, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged 19th century novels, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", academic feminism, academic job struggle, academic prestige, author’s platform, “About Abigail Rosenthal” video, “Autumn Leaves”, background music, blaming Holocaust victims, book genre, Brooklyn College Philosophy Department, Charles de Gaulle, Charles Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities, Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre", collegial friend, Columbia philosophy department, Columbia Religion Department, communication, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, Coulda been a contender, CUNY, Currer and Acton Bell, equine therapist, Fair Play for Cuba Committee, Fidelista, French philosopher, Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, horse sense, horse tracks, Houyhnhnms, human therapist, Israeli ambassador, Jane Austen, Laurel Nobilis stables, Les feuilles mortes, life strategy, love of wisdom, male pseudonyms, manuscript design, mass executions, multi-tasking, natural riding, opinion shapers, opportunism, overthinking, philosophy of language, philosophy students, podcast, preamble and outgo, public space, purposive action, R&R, reaching readers, receptive silence, relaxation, remembering where you’re headed, rest and recuperation, seeking readers, staying invisible, success as a full-time job, success tradeoffs, Susan Sontag, the Bronte Sisters, therapist, truth-seeking, whitewashing Nazis, women writers, words and images | Leave a comment

The Thrill of Admiration

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Abigail

The Thrill of Admiration These days I’m reading Jacob Howland’s wonderful book about Plato’s Republic, the great dialogue that shows how hard it is to teach virtue in the political arena. At the same time, I’m mentally settling down … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Afterlife, Alienation, American Politics, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, beauty, books, bureaucracy, Childhood, Chivalry, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Immortality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, master/slave relation, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, Poetry, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, Sex Appeal, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged a long romance, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", admirers and detractors, Adolf Eichmann, Aristotle, “call no man happy”, buffetings of public opinion, Chaim Tchernowitz, death and glory, deserved honors, fall from grace, fame and fortune, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, history’s big stage, history’s unfair verdict, history’s verdict, inflated reputation, Jacob Howland’s Glaucon’s Fate: History Myth and Character in Plato’s Republic, Jewish history, legacy, lost reputation, lucky in love, mental programming, mindless bureaucrats, named professorships, Nazi bureaucracy, opinion shapers, Plato, Plato's Republic, posterity's verdict, posthumous reputation, public disfavor, public esteem, Rav Tsair, reputation, reversals of fortune, risks to happiness, Solon of Athens, the Holocaust, the just and the unjust, the just man, the race well run, uplifting versus defaming a reputation, victims and perpetrators, W.H. Auden's In Memory of W B Yeats, writers and philosophers | Leave a comment

Alter Egos

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Abigail

Alter Egos I’ve just finished reading the remaining chapters of my book, A Good Look at Evil. Though it’s a contribution to the field of philosophy, it has a dramatic build to it. Initial chapters deal with the conceptual battles … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Anthropology, Art of Living, Autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Cultural Politics, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Health, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, non-violence, Ontology, Oppression, pacifism, Past and Future, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Romance, scientism, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, Sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", Arabian horses, Arendt’s personal story, banality of evil, behaviorism, bureaucratic conformism, cog in the wheel, conceptual fights, connecting the dots, crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jews, dramatic story, Eichmann trial, equine therapy, following orders excuse, genocide, Gentile world, getting thrown, going country, Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Holocaust, horse as confidante, horse grooming, horsemanship, horses and risk, influence, intellectual detective work, intellectual rationale, intuitive horseback riding, Israeli secret agents, Jewish world, just following orders, Laurel Nobilis Arabians LLC, Milgram experiments, moral displacements, moral evasions, moral projections, narrative, Nazi haven in Argentina, obfuscations, personal life, philosophy, received truth, scared of horses, Skewbald, spirit of history, Stanford Prison Experiments, stilling the mind, talking horse, the kidnap of Eichmann, the Mossad, trust and mistrust, value judgments, you are what you think | Leave a comment

“Evil is Really Not Banal”

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Abigail

“Evil is Really Not Banal” This past week we’ve been in California, where I’ve resumed my treatments for neuropathy at the Loma Linda hospital. The other event of the week, salient for me, was a talk at the Claremont School … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, American Politics, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, Biblical God, books, bureaucracy, Christianity, Cities, Class, conformism, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, cults, Cultural Politics, Culture, dialectic, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, exploitation, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Freedom, Friendship, glitterati, Guilt and Innocence, Hegel, hegemony, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Immorality, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Judaism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Martyrdom, Memoir, memory, Mind Control, Modernism, Moral action, Moral evaluation, Moral psychology, morality, Mortality, Oppression, Past and Future, Peace, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, politics, politics of ideas, post modernism, Power, presence, promissory notes, Propaganda, Psychology, public facade, Public Intellectual, Race, radicalism, Reading, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, secular, Seduction, self-deception, social construction, Social Conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, Spirituality, status, status of women, Suffering, Terror, terrorism, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, the profane, the sacred, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "A Good Look at Evil", audience Q&A, author/publisher relation, “The Rake’s Progress”, banality of evil, behaviorism, Bernard Harrison’s Blaming the Jews: The Persistence of a Delusion, blaming the Jews, book endorsements, book reviewers, book reviews, bureaucratic mindset, Claremont School of Theology, Coincidences, conscious evil, diabolical cunning, Evil, evil personified, excusing the Holocaust, explaining evil, fiction and real life, fighting the good fight, firming resolve, futile counterargument, groupthink, guidance from above, Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Holocaust research, illustrations from life, knee fracture, Loma Linda Hospital, meaning what you say, moral coverup, Nazi arguments, Nazi canards, Nazi materials, Nazi talking points, neuropathy treatments, publishing snafus, speaker event, synchronicities, the Holocaust, the seducer, theologians, traps of argument, truth stranger than fiction, white-washing evil, wolf in sheep’s clothing | 11 Comments

“Philosophical Gossip”

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Abigail

“Philosophical Gossip” Not long ago, the writer Cynthia Ozick had a front page piece in the New York Times Book Review about gossip. In her usual talent-laden voice, Ozick wrestles with the double sense of gossip. Could it be deplorable … Continue reading →

Posted in "Absolute Freedom and Terror", Absurdism, Academe, Action, Alienation, Anthropology, Art, Art of Living, Atheism, Autonomy, Bible, Childhood, Chivalry, Class, Contemplation, Contradictions, Cool, Courage, Courtship, Culture, Desire, dialectic, Erotic Life, Eternity, Ethics, Evil, Existentialism, Faith, Fashion, Femininity, Feminism, Films, Freedom, Friendship, Gender Balance, Guilt and Innocence, Heroes, hidden God, History, history of ideas, Idealism, Ideality, Identity, Ideology, Idolatry, Institutional Power, Jews, Journalism, Law, Legal Responsibility, life and death struggle, Literature, Love, Male Power, Martyrdom, Masculinity, master, Memoir, Mind Control, Modernism, Mortality, nineteenth-century, Oppression, Past and Future, Philosophy, Political, Political Movements, Power, Propaganda, Psychology, Public Intellectual, Reductionism, relationships, Religion, Roles, Seduction, Sex Appeal, Sexuality, slave, Social Conventions, Sociobiology, Spirituality, Suffering, Terror, The Examined Life, The Problematic of Men, The Problematic of Woman, Theism, Theology, Time, twentieth century, Violence, War, Work, Writing, Zeitgeist | Tagged "the evil tongue", "the few and the many", "the noble and the base", 19th century novels, Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Defining Evil Away: Arendt's Forgiveness", banality of evil, behaviorism, Bettina Stangneth's Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer, censorship, charisma, clandestine romance, classical philosophers, colleagues, collegiality, conventional religion, courtship, Cynthia Ozick, Cynthia Ozick's "The Novel's Evil Tongue", de-Nazification, dominance and submission, dramatic lives, eavesdropping, Eichmann trial transcript, emigres, evil as conformism, female vulnerability, Femininity, fiction, flattery, free will, freedom, German-Jewish philosophers, German-Jewish students, gossip, Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Hans Jonas Memoirs, Hans Jonas The Gnostic Religion, Henry James, historical characters, Jane Austen, lashon hara, Leo Strauss, Leo Strauss' Persecution and the Art of Writing, Letters 1925-1975: Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger, lifelong love affair, lifelong romance, love letter, Male Power, malice, Martin Heidegger, modern sensibility, Modernity, moral choice, narrative, novelists, Orthodox Judaism, persecution, persona, personal magnetism, personal v political, philosophers, philosophic friendships, philosophic lives, philosophic romances, Philosophy v Religion, plot lines, private passion, private persons, professorial power, public intellectuals, public v private, refugees, seduction, slander, Stanley Rosen, Tarzan and Jane, The Nazi Party, The New York Times Book Review, theologians, Tolstoy, University of Chicago, unpretentiousness, whitewashing, World War II | Leave a comment

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