Arendt, Augustine, and the New Beginning: The Action Theory and Moral Thought of Hannah Arendt in the Light of Her Dissertation on St. Augustine

Stephan Kampowki’s systematic treatment of this question of relevance presents an original scholarly contribution of a hitherto largely ignored foundation to Arendt’s work. Kampowski begins by thoroughly discussing Arendt’s biography and bibliography, and then conducts an examination of Scott’s and Stark’s edition of Arendt’s dissertation. Kampowski analyzes Arendt’s theory of action, presented primarily in The Human Condition, and then her principal ideas about ethics as found in The Life of the Mind. Finally, having shown Arendt’s mature idea on action and ethics, he places them in relation to her argument in her dissertation, Der Liebesbegriff.

Kampowski here offers readers a valuable panorama of some of the most central aspects of Arendt’s thought, tackling perennial and existential philosophical questions at the heart of every human being.