Narrative in Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought
Subject Areas : Research in Theoritical Politics
Mohadeseh Teymori
1
,
Abbas Manouchehri
2
1 - M.A Student of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Professor, Department of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Narrative, Hannah Arendt, Civic Thought, Action, Good Life.,
Abstract :
Narrative in Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought
Mohadeseh Teymori *
Abbas Manouchehri**
In recent decades, the concept of “narrative” has emerged as a significant topic in the philosophy of history, coinciding with developments in linguistics and narrative theory. This article examines storytelling in Hannah Arendt’s thought as a normative approach and an “existential capacity” an approach that facilitates the understanding of the world, human action, and political life. Given the status of phenomenology in Arendt’s mode of thinking, the present study adopts a phenomenological approach and utilizes an intertextual method to analyze her work in relation to relevant intellectual traditions, particularly the views of Aristotle. The research findings indicate that narrative in Arendt’s thought has a fundamental link with the emergence of human “who-ness,” the durability of action, the formation of a common world, and the realization of the good life. From this perspective, storytelling is considered a fundamental component of Arendt’s civic thought and a horizon for understanding politics and human relations.
Keywords: Narrative, Hannah Arendt, Civic Thought, Action, Good Life.
Introduction and Problem Statement: Narrative as the Realm of Meaning
In the contemporary philosophical tradition, the concept of
“narrative” has often been reduced to fields such as literary theory or linguistics. However, within Hannah Arendt’s intellectual system, storytelling transcends a mere descriptive tool and transforms into a normative category and an “existential capacity.” The central problem is that in the modern world, due to the erosion of human bonds and the dominance of instrumental rationality, the public realm has fallen into decline. Arendt contends that human action, despite its grandeur and liberating quality, requires a mechanism to rescue it from the “dust of oblivion” due to its inherently “mortal” and transient nature.
This article is based on the premise that storytelling is a response to this crisis of the “mortality of action.” Arendt presents narrative not as a mental representation of reality, but as a “world-building mechanism” and a means of “bestowing meaning upon events.” Therefore, when an action occurs in the public realm, it is only through narrative that the identity of the actor is revealed and recorded in collective memory. Indeed, in Arendt’s view, storytelling is anotelian concept of phronesis (practical wisdom). Phronesis is the rational virtue that allows humans to judge correctly in the variable conditions and “plurality” of the public realm. The article argues that narrative in Arendt’s system complements phronesis. If phronesis tells us how to act in the moment of action, narrative allows us, after the action has occurred, to extract its meaning for the “other.” This intertextual link shows that Arendt is attempting to reconstruct a “political ontology” in which storytelling is a way to overcome the deadlock of meaninglessness in the modern world. Indeed, by relying on intertextuality, we not only interpret Arendt’s ideas but also demonstrate how the Aristotelian tradition, when confronted with Arendt’s concerns about “plurality,” transforms into a new language for understanding civic politics. This framework allows us to conceptualize narrative as a “civic virtue” that does not obscure human differences but makes them a necessary condition for coexistence.
- Main Body: Existential and Political Functions of Narrative
Continuing the analysis, we must focus on how Arendt shifts narrative from the domain of “literature” to the realm of praxis.
- a) Narrative as an Agent of “Immortality” against the Decline of Action: Action in Arendt’s thought is spontaneous and unpredictable; as soon as an action occurs, it disappears in the passage of time. According to Arendt, humans turn to narrative because they want to leave a “trace” of themselves in the world. Narrative is the “story of action.” When human action takes the form of a narrative, it escapes the dominance of time and becomes “immortal.” Without narrative, heroes and actors of the public realm do not remain in the memory of history, and our common world gradually becomes emptied of memories and meaning. Therefore, storytelling is a “moral commitment” a commitment not to let noble human acts be buried in the darkness of oblivion.
- b) Linking Narrative with “Phronesis” and “Plurality”: Arendtian storytelling is not a monologue, but a dialogue formed amidst a plurality of voices. Here, the concept of “plurality” plays a fundamental role. Arendt believes that the world is only “real” when it is seen and narrated by different individuals from different angles. The storyteller is someone who, using phronesis (practical wisdom), can turn the scattered details of daily life into a “meaningful whole.” This function of narrative has a direct link to the public realm, for to build a “common world,” we need to hear and understand each other’s stories. Narrative here is a vessel for the emergence of my “who-ness” before the “other.” When I narrate the story of my life or my action, I move away from the “abstract I” and become a “citizen” in a web of human relationships.
- c) Confronting Anomalies and Reconstructing the Public Realm: In analyzing the research findings, it is observed that storytelling has a liberating function against the “illusions” arising from ideologies or dominant official narratives. When the narratives of power are produced to control minds, Arendt proposes “civic storytelling” a narrative based on the “truth of the event” and lived experience. This type of narrative brings citizens out of isolation and connects them to one another. In this paradigm, storytelling means “being among others.” Unlike the Habermasian approach that emphasizes “rational dialogue,” Arendt emphasizes “story-like narration,” because human life fundamentally has a narrative structure, and we experience life in the form of beginnings, middles, and ends.
Conclusion
Finally, the article concludes with the argument that storytelling in Arendt’s thought is not a decorative activity, but an “existential necessity” for the continuation of political life. If we understand politics as opening a space for the appearance of freedom, storytelling is the light that makes this appearance visible. The main implications of this research are:
The Transition from Technocratic Politics to Narrative Politics: In today’s world, where technology casts a shadow over human relationships, reviving the tradition of storytelling can help restore a “sense of meaning” to the public realm.
Narrative as a Connecting Agent: Arendtian storytelling, by accepting plurality, creates a platform for the “coexistence of differences” instead of attempting to homogenize them.
The Ethics of Narrative: Arendt teaches us that narrating is a responsibility we all share. Anyone who hears and retells another’s story is engaged in preserving the fabric of the common world.
In the end, this article demonstrates that storytelling in Hannah Arendt’s thought is a way to “live in the world without surrendering to nihilism.” This capacity gives citizens the power to reread the past and shape a future where “freedom” is not just a slogan, but a continuous experience in the public realm.
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* Corresponding Author: M.A Student of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
mohadesehteymori13@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2384-2998
** Professor, Department of Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
amanoochehri@yahoo.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0324-3687
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