Not So Vain After All: Hannah Arendt’s Reception of Ecclesiastes
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Phillip Michael Lasater
Abstract
Although Hannah Arendt only explicitly references the book of Ecclesiastes in order to contrast its views with her own, she and Qoheleth parallel each other on substantive issues. After showing how an influential translation of a key motif from Ecclesiastes led Arendt to misapprehend Qoheleth, this study unpacks their intellectual common ground on matters of affirming worldly life; the nature of action; and critical views of the human heart. Yet this third area which addresses human nature also highlights a divergence between them on how thinking relates to the problem of evil.
Acknowledgment
This paper has been enhanced and strengthened through collegial feedback. Sincere thanks, in alphabetical order, to John Kiess (Loyola University Maryland) for his comments on my treatment of Hannah Arendt, as well as for his input on current Arendt scholarship; and to Carol A. Newsom (Emory University) for her comments, which improved what can be a tricky exercise of cross-cultural comparison between ancient and modern figures. Whatever shortcomings remain are my own. Unless stated otherwise, biblical translations are the author’s.
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