Jean asked:

1. Contrasting "action" with "labor" and "work" what is the description for the nature of equality and
freedom and the explanation of how these features condition according to Arendt in the interactive
process?

2. What connection does Arendt see between the rise of Cartesian doubt and the triumph of the homo
faber mentality within the modern world?

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One of the great things about literacy is that people can write down their beliefs and have others read
them. One of the really magnificent inventions in the history of humankind was the printing press,
which made it possible for books not just to be written, but to be copied in identical form thousands
and more of times. This means that debate and discussion become possible because people can
refer to these identical copies of books, papers etc. It also means, of course, that in order to have
such debates, one should actually read those writings. A great deal of trouble in discussion and
debate results from people discussing writings they've not read ("ah: Joe Bloggs told me!"); and then
you also find, quite frequently, overworked and underpaid students using primers to crib their
"knowledge" for the sake of passing an exam, which of course means they know again only Joe
Bloggs opinion. All this by way of informing you that Arendt has actually written a book of relatively
modest dimensions, so that reading it would not take an inordinate amount of time to tell you and me
all about the subject matter of your question. The book is called The Human Condition;it is extremely
well written (she had an outstanding literary person as her editor) and easy to understand; and if this
is what you are interested in, don't let yourself be fobbed off by second and third hand accounts, but
get the book!

Jürgen Lawrenz

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