Abstrakt
This article discusses by-products of thinking affecting human action in Hannah Arendt ’s thought. First, I concentrate on Arendt’s understanding of evil in human action formulated in the concepts of radical and banal evil.
The next part examines the impact of thinking on creating human being as a person with conscience and potential for judgment. Following, the focus shifts to the ways in which the lack of thinking is mirrored in human action.
The last part explores transition from an inner dialogue between me and myself to an external dialogue of thinking with others without any external impulses leading to it. I argue that according to Hannah Arendt action in the sense of speech is another by-product of thinking besides conscience and judgment.
Thinking in a public dialogue co-creates the space of appearances. Decay of this space results in violence entering acting and also thinking.
Therefore, we can say thinking as a mental activity is not only prevention of evil action but also of the disintegration of the web of human relationships.