Banality of Evil

Introduction

This highly original book is the first to explore the political and philosophical consequences of Hannah Arendt's concept of the banality of evil, a term she used to describe Adolph Eichmann, architect of the Nazi final solution.

Context and Significance

According to Bernard J. Bergen, the questions that preoccupied Arendt were the meaning and significance of the Nazi genocide to our modern times. As Bergen describes Arendt's struggle to understand the banality of evil, he shows how Arendt redefined the meaning of our most treasured political concepts and principles—freedom, society, identity, truth, equality, and reason—in light of the horrific events of the Holocaust.

Conclusion

Arendt concluded that the banality of evil results from the failure of human beings to fully experience our common human characteristics—thought, will, and judgment—and that the exercise and expression of these attributes is the only chance we have to prevent a recurrence of the kind of terrible evil perpetrated by the Nazis.