many, and it is likely many artists will find her valuable. For example, one of her starting points is that each of us is born “fit for worldly existence. . .Being and Appearing coincide. . .””. What she has done is reaffirm the ancient conception that there is no hidden and ultimate reality behind things or within persons. The avant-garde and science fiction readers take note. The first volume and part of the second (‘Willing’) were originally delivered as the Gifford lectures at the University of Aberdeen. The third part (‘Judging’), in which she tries to transpose Kant, was incomplete when she died in 1975. Yet amid the avalanche of crucial books (cough) regarding consciousness and psychologizing, she enters the scene with a majestic indifference toward the existing literature that surrounds much of her subject matter. What is also rare is her joie de vivre, that peculiar mixture of thought with guile and quirkiness, which may remind one of the adventures of Gabriel Dumont, or per- Einstein ’s Theory of haps the thread of darjng foundti Relativity (1905). TIC 2 The Life of the Mind isa ection of themes loosely related, and may I suggest that this occurs out of necessity. It is not a large-scale inquiry into the nature and operation of the mind. Except for the long section on willing, each area is treated episodically. It is clear that for Arendt what was involved was a self-clarification and retrospection: the mind reflects upon its encounters with the world and comes to acquire greater self-con- sciousness about its own mediating abilities, including an appreciation of the ironical element in its dialectical affairs. For some this will surely be a cause for irritation, but one simply cannot have it both ways when extending the circumference of human faculties. A basic aim of hers was to make a refuge for the mind in a world where thinking has become identified with scientific rationally — or luxuries. She could see that strange quality which few know what to make of, that human existence resembles a theatrum mundi: each of us is both subject and object, perceiver and petceived. “Nothing and nobody exists in this world whose very being does not presuppose a spectator.” (1. 19,20) : The related themes include: *the world’s phenomenal nature * science and common sense *Kant’s distinction between intellect and reason * invisibility and withdrawal *the pre-philosophic assumptions of Greek philo- sophy *time and mental activities Co *the historical nature of the mind Y) C S *the faculty of choice Ii A geo In all of this spreads the attitude of wonder toward the diversities and problematics that appear in everyday life, beginning with the mind’s ability to continually undercut itself with the talent for self-deception. As mentioned earlier, she paints no large circle to encompass her series of tiny ones; it’s more like “road into farm and barn so / little light cows dreaming / meeting alone and / it’s round and we go.” There’s a small section in Thinking entitled ‘‘Language and Metaphor” which may make clear how Arendt pro- ceeds. In this section, she begins with the understanding that the criterion of Jogos, coherent speech, is not truth or falsehood but meaning. For her, logos is speech in which words are put together to form a sentence that is totally meaningful by virtue of synthesis. At this point she dis- misses the much debated question of ‘‘whether thought is the origin of speaking, as though speech were merely an instrument of communicating our thoughts, or whether thought is the consequence of the fact that man is a speak- ing animal. In any case, thinking beings have an urge to speak, speaking beings have an urge to think.” (1. 99) (In a similar way she dismisses the Hebraic conception of knowledge as based upon “hearing.”’) Then she makes remarks on the difference between Western and Chinese civilizations where they think in - images and not in words; their thinking in images remains “concrete” and cannot be discursive, nor can it give account of itself as we do in our society. What is shared however is the unquestioned priority of vision for mental activities. And this priority remains absolutely decisive throughout the history of Western metaphysics and its notion of truth. As she says, no language has a ready-made vocabulary for the needs of mental activity. They all borrow their vocabulary from words originally meant to correspond either to sense experience or to other experiences of ordinary life. What follows is this: “All philosophic and most poetic language is meta- phorical. . . If, therefore, as Shelley says, the poet’s language is ‘vitally metaphorical,’ it is so to the extent that ‘it marks the before unapprehended relations of things and perpetuates their apprehen- sion.’ This intuitive perception of similarity in dissimilars is a similarity of relations as in an analo- gy. .. And this speaking in analogies, in metaphori- cal language, according to Kant, is the only way through which speculative reason, which we here call thinking, can manifest itself. The metaphor achieves the ‘carrying over’ — metapherein — of a genuine and seemingly impossible transition from an existential state, that of thinking, to another, that of being an appearance among appearances. . . The insights of metaphysics are gained by analogy, not in the usual meaning of an imperfect resemblance of two things, but of a perfect resemblance of two relations between totally dissimilar things. . .” (1, 104) I - | | | i oer men ae ES oaeeeerie | renee Semel reer ERD tcenusinienimadall emer oe so cermever nin ner nna Serre ren ncn te alates laa I scaneateenieceenieheiniatiaaaae ae) Jamie Jenkins And this is where artists make their connections, through the use of this originally poetic tool. Not in the sense of Arendt’s discursiveness, her wanting to give account and justify in words, but simply using this natural instrument, the metaphor, to illuminate and elaborate further what cannot necessarily be seen but can be given some form, can be brought to our attention. Arendt closes this section of “language and metaphor’ by saying: “That the world of appearances reminds us of things non-apparent, may be seen as a kind of “proof” that mind and body, thinking and sense experience, the invisible and the visible, belong together, are ‘“‘made” for each other, as it were. . . in other words, there are not two worlds because metaphor unites them.” (1, 110) As said earlier, these two volumes are concerned with topics which have been disputed for centuries. With Han- nah Arendt we fall into time:-~Qpe of the few things we take with us are the words, ‘“‘Maw,,know thyself.” The Life of the Mind is not fr those Who feel old and tired. Ca 3 v —Gordon Moore x ’ surfacing flowing, bubbling up and down shaping, twisting over and about probing, testing in and out idea surfacing jump and shout. Joshua Berson | ic % Be fee eed ey rere Fes ep cant eee cee oie ee pee ere re es ie site Sith WS os EEA ae dee a "The fst volume and part ofthe second ("Win vere orgy delivered/an tne itl cece tite Univenity of Aberdeen. ‘The third pert (Sludging in (ed Dee Seay oe, ape eneh Me the’ ed in 1973, Yer amid de srlache of croc Sook (Gg reget coeur Pei e Saree rg ee ue eee ee Str a ees eae Ber cory ia aoe ee sy fino he abn age the cuted 1 aegal eod aan Relativity (1903), 774 Ws The Life of the Mind i€ae6f€Etion of themes loosely ey aT ee eee fio ees fice ae Hore oa ete ee einen ees ssc eaten! | quae vine uiaeatnete (erties he yin pater te eae cere ESGe Gan close Sahaae Sees acer rare teteaey accel Gearon eis acres na cane i ol arly eee Fn at iar eae see ic eet es eee cea eat cee eee ee ssc ria atalino oes! 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They all borrow theie vocabulary from words originally meant to correspond cither to sense experience or to other experiences of ‘ordinary life. What follows is this: “All philosophic and most poetic language is meta- phorical. If, therefore, as Shelley says, the poet's language is ‘vitally metaphorical,’ it is so to the cextent that “it marks the before unapprehended relations of things and perpetuates their apprehen- sion." This ve perception of similarity in dlissimilars is a similarity of relations as in an analo- sy... And this speaking in analogies, in metaphori ‘eal language, according to Kant, is the only way through which speculative reason, which we here call thinking, can manifest itself, The metaphor achieves the ‘carrying over’ — metapherein — of a genuine and seemingly impossible transition from fan existential state, that of thinking, to another, that of being an appearance among appearances. The insights of metaphysics are gained by analogy, notin the usual meaning of an imperfect resemblance ‘of two things, but of a perfect resemblance of t300 relations between totally dissimilar things. ..” (1, 104) Jamie Jenkins fod ths a where ro mate this comnecton, hough the uss of tls ongnaly poste no Notin de trae of frends docertvenoy bet wating © Bre tecwunt ends In words ba nly weg ds naar Inowameat, te metaphor so Mmiate wid caborse fare ole corns ecastly scary nce be gm itso oes ts econ of language ond seophor” cee Thr the wos a appannces ron s ofehing nonappecat, mey be ween a4 Kind of “poo” thor nind and body, thinking and eae experience, the ivble and the vicloy belong topeten te “ade for ech oter sleet. ober wit thre are not two words brates metaphor eae them." 110) As sald carer, these ewo voles te concerned with topes wich have been puted for consi. With Hae nal Avende we fll ito persue of the fe things we take wu te the won “littnow hye” The Life of the Mind is not Ca those Who feel old and tired. Gordon Moore surfacing flowing, bubbling up and down shaping, twisting over and about ‘probing, testing in and out ‘dea surfacing jump and shout. Joshua Berson