The centrality of the anecdote in Hannah Arendt’s political theory

Alex Cain

Abstract: In this talk I investigate the notion of the anecdote in the political theory of Hannah Arendt and argue that it was central to her theory. The centrality of the anecdote for Arendt has not yet been recognized in the literature. This is surprising given that almost all of Arendt’s works begin with an anecdote of some description or other. In this talk I first describe, using observations from Walter Benjamin, the meaning of the anecdote. Then, I discuss an occasion on which Arendt explicitly acknowledges the power of the anecdote. I then relate this to the her distinction between private and public life and the role the anecdote has within this dichotomy and in relation to her conception of the active life.

Bio: Alex Cain is Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. She was awarded her PhD from Monash University in 2023 with a dissertation on the concept of friendship in the work of Hannah Arendt. She is currently working on her monograph, The Genuis of Friendship, which is contracted to de Gruyter Press. Her work has been published in Philosophy & Social Criticism, Critical Horizons, Arendt Studies, hannaharendt.net, and Philosophy Today (forthcoming 2025), among other venues.

Zoom link available on request to Sean Bowden ([email protected])