The Life of the Mind

Considered by many to be Hannah Arendt's greatest work, and published as she neared the end of her life, The Life of the Mind investigates thought itself as it exists in contemplative life. In a shift from her previous writings, most of which focus on the world outside the mind, this was planned as three volumes that would explore the activities of the mind considered by Arendt to be fundamental. What emerged is a rich, challenging analysis of human mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of the twentieth century's most brilliant and original political thinkers. A prolific essayist and philosopher throughout her life, she studied philosophy at the University of Heidelberg under Karl Jaspers. She was University Professor of Political Philosophy in the graduate faculty of the New School for Social Research for many years, as well as a Visiting Fellow of the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. The Life of the Mind was first published in 1971.