The temporality of thinking in Hannah Arendt

Abstract

The article investigates Hannah Arendt's conception of time and its correlation with the spiritual faculties, especially thinking. Initially, it presents the contrast between chronological time and temporal perception.  According to the Augustinian notion of the distension of the mind, time arises from the action of the spirit, which integrates the past, retained in memory, the present, focused on the senses, and the future, projected in expectation. Next, it introduces the analysis of the temporality of the active life, highlighting its contrast with that of the life of the mind. Labor has a circular and ephemeral nature, work operates in a linear way and bestows durability upon the world, while action is marked by intrinsic unpredictability and fragility. The central argument focuses on the act of thinking, which de-senses and de-spatializes what reaches it through the senses, preparing objects of thought suitable for the permanent present created within the spirit. The activity of thinking is illustrated through the Arendtian interpretation of Kafka's parable, which depicts it as an activity situated in the gap between past and future, fighting against both. From the clash between these forces, thinking emerges as a line originating in the present and with the power to extend into infinity. In this view, although oriented towards the incessant search for meaning, thinking remains invariably rooted in human existence. After a brief analysis of the temporality of the mind’s other activities, it concludes by emphasizing the importance of temporality for the understanding of fundamental aspects of Arendt's work.