• A fissure in the distinction: Hannah Arendt, the family and the public/private dichotomy

    Author(s):
    Christopher Long (see profile)
    Date:
    2007
    Group(s):
    Philosophy
    Subject(s):
    Philosophy
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Arendt, feminist philosophy, Womens History Month
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6DK7C
    Abstract:
    By way of an analysis of Arendt’s defense of the public/private distinction in The Human Condition, this essay attempts to offer a re-interpretation of the status of the family as a realm where the categories of action and speech play a vital role. The traditional criteria for the establishment of the public/private distinction is grounded in an idealization of the family as a sphere where a unity of interests destroys the conditions for the categories of action and speech. This essay takes issue with this assumption and argues that the traditional conception has had a pernicious effect not only on women, but on men as well. This argument is supported by locating a fissure in Arendt’s analysis of this distinction which suggests a profound structural affinity between the public realm and the family.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    7 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
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