Rhetoric and Truth in Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy

Abstract

This article aims to show the rhetorical concepts present in two essays written by Hannah Arendt, Philosophy and Politics and Truth and Politics, in order to explain a troubled relationship between philosophical and political truth, and how this quarrel is related to mode of philosopher's life. Rhetoric and persuasion were not in themselves a problem for Hannah Arendt's political thinking, since, once rhetoric was conditioned on friendship, it would become an extremely important political and pedagogical instrument for the maintenance of political life. On the other hand, the use of rhetoric without this conditioning highlighted the fragility of different types of truth in the face of opinion, including philosophical truth, which, although not as fragile as the actual truth, depends on the preservation of public space and the free use of speech. Finally, the solution to this conflict will be demonstrated through the possibility of a new Political Philosophy, which has thought and language as a guideline.