Even though we have lost yardsticks by which to measure, and rules under which to subsume the particular, a being whose essence is a beginning may have enough of origin within himself to understand without preconceived categories and to judge without the set of customary rules which is morality.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that true understanding and moral judgment can come from within, independent of societal norms and categories.
Hannah Arendt's quote reflects the idea that personal essence and intrinsic understanding can guide individuals in making judgments, even when traditional moral rules and societal classifications are absent. It emphasizes the importance of self-discovery and the ability to navigate life's complexities without relying solely on external standards.
In practice
In a philosophy class discussing the nature of morality.
A life spent entirely in public, in the presence of others, becomes, as we would say, shallow. While it retains its visibility, it loses its quality of rising into sight from some darker ground which must remain hidden if it is not to lose its depth in a very real, non-subjective sense.
Politically speaking, tribal nationalism [patriotism] always insists that its own people are surrounded by 'a world of enemies' - 'one against all' - and that a fundamental difference exists between this people and all others. It claims its people to be unique, individual, incompatible with all others, and denies theoretically the very possibility of a common mankind long before it is used to destroy the humanity of man.
We are wont to see friendship solely as a phenomenon of intimacy in which the friends open their hearts to each other unmolested by the world and its demands...Thus it is hard for us to understand the political relevance of friendship...But for the Greeks the essence of friendship consisted in discourse...The converse (in contrast to the intimate talk in which individuals speak about themselves), permeated though it may be by pleasure in the friend’s presence, is concerned with the common world.
Our tradition of political thought had its definite beginning in the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. I believe it came to a no less definite end in the theories of Karl Marx.
It is the nature of beginning that something new is started which cannot be expected from whatever may have happened before. This character of startling unexpectedness is inherent in all beginnings.
Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time
The most serious dangers for American freedom and the American way of life do not come from without.
If you care to see God, be pure. If you will not be pure, you will grow more and more impure.
I am a child of my generation, and I rejoice that I live in such splendidly disturbing times.
Men build society and society builds men.
The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent.
If everything in the environment is utterly predictable, you become bored. If it's utterly unpredictable, you become frustrated.
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