Arendt's thesis is that the concerns of the vita activa are neither superior nor inferior to those of the vita contemplativa, nor are they the same. Karl Marx flipped the hierarchy, claiming that the vita contemplativa is merely a superstructure on the fundamental basic life-processes of a society. Ancient philosophers insisted upon the superiority of the vita contemplativa, for which the vita activa merely provided necessities. Structure I – The Human Condition Īrendt introduces the term vita activa (active life) by distinguishing it from vita contemplativa (contemplative life). The work consists of a prologue and six parts. A second edition, with an introduction by Margaret Canovan, was issued in 1998. The Human Condition was first published in 1958. She distinguishes three sorts of activity (labor, work, and action) and discusses how they have been affected by changes in Western history. Arendt is interested in the vita activa (active life) as contrasted with the vita contemplativa (contemplative life) and concerned that the debate over the relative status of the two has blinded us to important insights about the vita activa and the way in which it has changed since ancient times. The Human Condition, first published in 1958, is Hannah Arendt's account of how "human activities" should be and have been understood throughout Western history.
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