Abstract

VARGAS BEJARANO, Julio César. THE CONCEPT OF POLITICAL ACTION IN THE THOUGHT OF HANNAH ARENDT. Eidos [online]. 2009, n.11, pp.82-107. ISSN 1692-8857.

Arendts theory of action is complex, due to the fact that she approaches it without coming to fully clarify the contours that define this central concept. This statement allows us to put forward the hypothesis that there are several theories of action in Arendt's thought; in the first place, action is presented as a merely political activity; but there can also be violent action, and thereby it can have negative effects on politics; and, in a wide sense, action may come to intervene in nature. This paper executes successive approaches to "action"; to do this, in the first place, it presents the relationship between political action and the concept of praxis and its difference with production. In the second place, it gives an account of plurality as the proper condition for action; afterwards, it deals with the problem of the initiation of action, then it directs its attention to the space in which it takes place, to its relations with history, and finally, it presents the basic elements of its structure and function.

Keywords : Political action; world; public space; plurality; freedom.

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