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theoretical reason, the contemplative life of the philosopher, that can
lay hold of the real reality.
Despite the fact that Christianity was a movement among the labor–
ing classes, and that Christianity itself gave a new dignity to the humbler
tasks of living (had not the Savior himself been a carpenter), neverthe–
less the valuation of the contemplative life over that of action, labor,
or production continues, and is even strengthened by being allied with
a religious mysticism.
It is not till the beginning of the modern period, in the Renaissance,
that this traditional scheme of values becomes fundamentally altered:
the modern period in history is one in which man comes to understand
himself more and more as
homo faber,
man the maker, the producer
of tools and artifacts. Reason itself becomes a mere adjunct to or
in–
strument in the process of producing objects. What Miss Arendt ends
with is the thoroughly problematic situation of modern man, in which
this valuation of man the maker has run rampant and been collectivized,
until now with the advent of automation we face the prospect of a so–
ciety in which labor may be reduced to a minimum, but the leisure to
which the great masses will be delivered up offers them no longer the
goals of a life of contemplation, or a life which believes in the possibility
of great actions. As Miss Arendt puts it somberly: "It is quite conceiv–
able that the modern age-which began with such an unprecedented
and promising outburst of human activity-may end in the deadliest,
most sterile passivity history has ever known."
The somberness of these words has nothing to do with any of the
passionate jeremiads against modernity that have appeared in recent
years. Miss Arendt writes, rather, with the detachment and austerity
of real contemplation-a contemplation that seeks to watch with clear
and open eyes all the forces that are at work upon us in this moment
of history. Notice that she speaks above of a "possibility"-which means
that there are also other possibilities open and other forces at work.
Miss Arendt knows too well that the situation of man is always so prob–
lematic that it can never be ticketed off in any neat prognosis.
I am unable at this point to offer any "criticisms" of Miss Arendt's
ideas, for I am still in the process of digesting them. Though I have
read the book twice for the purposes of this review, I know I shall
be studying it for the next year or so, and each time there will be more
illumination to be had and more things to see and understand.
William Barrett
