Philosophy | Women’s Studies HannaH B a new reading of hannah arendt’s ir m philosophy of human rights arendt i n and g “Peg Birmingham’s reading of Arendt’s work is absolutely unique. She seeks h a Human rigHts nothing less than an ontological foundation of the political, and in particular, the m notion of human rights.”—Bernard Flynn, The New School for Social Research Hannah Arendt’s most important contribution to political thought may be her well- known and often-cited notion of the “right to have rights.” In this incisive and wide- ranging book, Peg Birmingham explores the theoretical and social foundations of H Arendt’s philosophy on human rights. Devoting special consideration to questions and a issues surrounding Arendt’s ideas of common humanity, human responsibility, and n natality, Birmingham formulates a more complex view of how these basic concepts n support Arendt’s theory of human rights. Birmingham considers Arendt’s key philo- a sophical works along with her literary writings, especially those on Walter Benjamin H and Franz Kafka, to reveal the extent of Arendt’s commitment to humanity even as violence, horror, and pessimism overtook Europe during WWII and its aftermath. This a current and lively book makes a significant contribution to philosophy, political science, r and European intellectual history. e n Peg Birmingham is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. She is co-editor d (with Philippe van Haute) of Dissensus Communis: Between Ethics and Politics and t co-translator (with Elizabeth Birmingham) of Dominique Janicaud’s Powers of the a Rational (available from Indiana University Press). n d Studies in Continental Thought —John Sallis, editor H u m INDIANA a n University Press http://iupress.indiana.edu r Bloomington & Indianapolis ISBN-13: 978-0-253-21865-0 1-800-842-6796 ISBN-10: 0-253-21865-9 i g H Cover illustration: Courtesy of The Predicament of Common Responsibility t the Hannah Arendt Bluecher s Literary Trust. Peg Birmingham INDIANA fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page i HANNAH ARENDT AND HUMAN RIGHTS fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page ii STUDIES IN CONTINENTAL THOUGHT JOHN SALLIS, GENERAL EDITOR CONSULTING EDITORS Robert Bernasconi J. N. Mohanty Rudolph Bernet Mary Rawlinson John D. Caputo Tom Rockmore David Carr Calvin O. Schrag Edward S. Casey †Reiner Schürmann Hubert Dreyfus Charles E. Scott Don Ihde Thomas Sheehan David Farrell Krell Robert Sokolowski Lenore Langsdorf Bruce W. Wilshire Alphonso Lingis David Wood William L. McBride fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page iii Hannah Arendt & Human Rights The Predicament of Common Responsibility PEG BIRMINGHAM Indiana University Press Bloomington &Indianapolis fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page iv This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [email protected] © 2006 by Peg Birmingham All rights reserved No part ofthis book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.        Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Birmingham, Peg, date Hannah Arendt and human rights : the predicament ofcommon responsibility / Peg Birmingham. p. cm. — (Studies in Continental thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-21865-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Arendt, Hannah. 2. Human rights—Philosophy. 3. Responsibility. I. Title. II. Series. JC251.A74B57 2006 323.092—dc22 2006006223 1 2 3 4 5 11 10 09 08 07 06 fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page v For Clare fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page vi fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page vii We become aware of the existence of a right to have rights (and that means to live in a framework where one is judged by one’s actions and opinions) and a right to belong to some kind of organized community, only when millions of people emerge who had lost and could not regain these rights because of the new global political situation. Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page viii fm 7/12/06 12:23 PM Page ix CONTENTS  ⁄ xi    ⁄ xiii Introduction: The Problem of Human Rights 1 1. The Event of Natality: The Ontological Foundation of Human Rights 4 2. The Principle of Initium: Freedom, Power, and the Right to Have Rights 35 3. The Principle of Givenness: Appearance, Singularity, and the Right to Have Rights 70 4. The Predicament of Common Responsibility 104 Conclusion: The Political Institution of the Right to Have Rights 132  ⁄ 143   ⁄ 155  ⁄ 159