Abstract

BARRIO, CATALINA. The Function of Thought and Discourse in Hannah Arendt. From Reflective Judgments to Political Judgments. Ideas y Valores [online]. 2015, vol.64, n.159, pp.109-130. ISSN 0120-0062.  https://doi.org/10.15446/ideasyvalores.v64n159.41567.

The paper argues that reflective judgments presuppose an agent determined by discursive functions. In order to demonstrate that there is a discursive or narrative subject in Arendt, the following issues are dealt with. First of all, that there is a direct relation between the political subject and its space of emergence or degree of publicity. In this sense, the subject is not just any subject, but rather one who has the possibility of appearing before others. This experience makes it possible to think of human action in a certain way. Reflective judgments operate on particular cases that enable the emergence of a discursive subject that orients action. Secondly, the purpose of this analysis is to find out whether it is possible or legitimate to think discourse as a strictly narrative resource, and to inquire into Arendt's position in this respect: is it possible to think about reflective judgments on the basis of that which is narrated? This question leads to our conclusion, since the possibility of thinking about that which is narrated on the basis of reflective judgments presupposes a specific subject with certain prior characteristics that enable the categories of the visible, of the invisible, and of appearance and reality.

Keywords : H. Arendt; reflective judgments.

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