Just as the law in civilized countries assumes that the voice of conscience tells everybody, "Thou shalt not kill," even though man's natural desires and inclinations may at times be murderous, so the law of Hitler's land demanded that the voice of conscience tell everybody: "Thou shalt kill," although the organizers of the massacres knew full well that murder is against the normal desires and inclinations of most people. Evil in the Third Reich had lost the quality by which most people recognize it - the quality of temptation.
Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting u… - Hannah Arendt
Clichés, stock phrases, adherence to conventional, standardized codes of expression and conduct have the socially recognized function of protecting u…
- Hannah Arendt
The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth, and truth be defamed a… - Hannah Arendt
The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth, and truth be defamed a…
Evil thrives on apathy and cannot exist without it. - Hannah Arendt
Evil thrives on apathy and cannot exist without it.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fic… - Hannah Arendt
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fic…
The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil. - Hannah Arendt
The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.
Few girls are as well shaped as a good horse. - Hannah Arendt
Few girls are as well shaped as a good horse.
Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it. - Hannah Arendt
Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.
Politically, the weakness of the argument has always been that those who choose the lesser evil forget very quickly that they chose evil. - Hannah Arendt
Politically, the weakness of the argument has always been that those who choose the lesser evil forget very quickly that they chose evil.
The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any. - Hannah Arendt
The aim of totalitarian education has never been to instill convictions but to destroy the capacity to form any.
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