The will as love and political action in Hannah Arendt

Abstract

The most important interpreters of Hannah Arendt's theory of the will focus on her criticisms regarding the will as liberum arbitrium and its manifestation in political activity as the desire to rule. These interpreters recognize that Arendt must also provide an alternative account of the will that is harmonious with her theory of action. Finding no such account in Arendt's works, a variety of interpretive reconstructions are deployed so that the will and action can cohere. This thesis argues that no such reconstruction is required and that there is another account of the will in Arendt's works distinct from the liberum arbitrium and harmonious with her theory of action. Through a close reading of the sections on Augustine and Duns Scotus in Arendt's Willing, this thesis shows that the alternative account of the will, couched as it is in theological discourse, is described as a transformation into love: the mental affirmation of the contingency of human affairs. The aim of this close reading, then, is to shine a light on Arendt's overlooked project of bringing together the will and action through the will's transformation into love.

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English