The Life of the Mind: The Groundbreaking Investigation on How We Think (Combined 2 Volumes in 1)

Arendt's work on thinking and the will, antecedent to the never completed section on "judging," is fascinating and more philosophical than some of her other works, which she categorized as political theory. My only complaint: the Kindle version includes some very unfortunate typographical errors, quite a few of them in fact, the sort of thing I associate with books that have been scanned via OCR technology. I don't mind that in the $1.99 kindle books that I sometimes pick up, but this was a full-priced Kindle version of a book in publication. Examples: the section on Augustine includes humans "measure time in terms of fives" instead of "lives" and worst of all, a reference to Augustine's treatise "The City of God" as "The City of Cod." Arendt and Augustine both deserve better than that, I think.

In her typical straight-to-the-point style of writing, Arendt explores some of the most philosophically important questions asked since antiquity. She guides us through the ages of development on topics such as freewill, time, and Being. She is one of the most important thinkers, not of the 20th century, but of all "time". This is Arendt for the philosopher/thinker, not the political scientist. From Heraclitus to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Arendt leaves no great thinker's stone unturned. I've read a lot of books, and this is probably one of the most important. Does she give us any answers to these important questions? NO. However, she shows that there are no answers to these questions, only better questions to be asked.

I don’t have enough word to praise this marvelous book. It is not a beginners read, if you have some philosophical background you can understand but in the end a lot of things still remain diffuse. Hannah open their sources, specially Augustine, and this book take the reader to the origin of Arendt thinking. I guess she returns to her first years as student, she look again at the philosophers that Martin Heidegger show to her and starts a fantastic journey to philosophy, the german philosophy specially, and with original insight she takes the old thinkers and give again new live to the forgotten texts. What a hell of a ride in philosophy, deserves more than a simple review on amazon, maybe a minute of silence in the most profound thinking.

Arendt is not a philosopher as she herself admits. She often calls philosophers, with some light irony "professional thinkers", an expression borrowed from Kant. So, groundbreaking insights are not to be found in these volumes, at least it is not the point. What makes this book an absolute delight is the fact that this is a "symposium" in the truest original sense of the word (well, perhaps without drinks actually being served), it is a gathering of the most intense, influential minds in the history of Western civilization, where they discuss ideas with the author in a light and engaging manner, enjoying themselves, and you are invited! You can particiapte in the general discussion or have intimate conversations with them, up to you.If an event like that were announced, and you got a pass, would you miss it? I wouldn't! This book is close enough.

`Life of the Mind,' while incomplete, nevertheless serves as a phenomenal exegesis of Western thought from one of the leading political and metaphysical thinkers of our era. Arendt breezes through an exorbitant quantity of philosophy with remarkable clarity and grace in this two-volume work. In it she provides a critical review of classical thought, including Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Dons Scotus, leading all the way up to Kant and Rousseau. She also explicates the notion of the Will in Nietzsche, and then Heidegger's `Will-Not-to-Will' in his later thought. It is possible that Arendt will remain among the greats in Western philosophy, political theory, and journalism more broadly. Her depth of knowledge and insight and capacity to read a text with fresh eyes will astonish you. Also included in the second volume of the text is one of the most cogent explications of Heidegger's Being and Time you are ever likely to find.

The Life of the Mind by Hannah Arendt is sometimes difficult to understand. But it is worth the attempt. And highly informative. I recommend this book.

Una de las ultimas recopilaciones del pensamiento de Hanna Arendt, y tal vez, de las más difíciles para desentrañar sus ideas y conceptos. Todo un desafío para filósofos y psicólogos sociales, porque hanna bucea en las raíces más profundas de la construcción de la subjetividad.

The reader sounds uncannily like Hannah herself. That being said, this is a good reading of the book, which have already read prior to listening, so for me it's fairly easy to follow.

This book is excellent

Very compact edition.

Hola, Annah Arendt es para los seguidores de su obra y de su vida. Cualquier lector puede, sin embargo, acercarse a ella con la mente abierta. Fue una gran pensadora y ·"una de las mentes más privilegiadas del siglo xx". Este libro está considerado como una de sus mejores obras, ·The life of the Mind" ("La vida de la mente", en una traducción literal). Posiblemente se pueda encontrar en español. El libro como materia física no es gran cosa. Es de tapa blanda, sin solapas y un papel económico. Lo importante es el interior, lo que Annah dice en sus páginas. Siempre vale la pena acercarse a ella.

It is a beautiful book and has given me wonderful time.Great reading, the subject is so subtle and yet so vital for all those who are considering the issue of Mind, Brain and learning.

Hannah Arendt has a special gift to make me reflect over her writing. She is not easy to read as she is very determined - I feel - to make me understand her points. She is god to read, store book for some time and then come back and read again. You get a deeper understanding and a broader view.