Part 3: An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!")(Part 3/Chapter 6)

18/05/2022 1h 20min

Listen "Part 3: An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!")(Part 3/Chapter 6)"

Episode Synopsis



This show continues our discussion from 10/7/21 of Bertha von Suttner's most famous and well-known work, Lay Down your Arms! (LDYA).  Since our last installment, 7 months ago, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and this conflict has endured for almost 3 months.  On this Peace Day, and the 2 year anniversary of this show, Bertha's book is all the more relevant.  Today we focus on chapter 6 (116-140), which we interpret as an account that foreshadows Hannah Arendt's philosophy on the relationship between thoughtlessness and evil ("the banality of evil"). In Chapter 6, Bertha stresses the link between armed conflict and thoughtlessness, both of the individual and the masses, as we discuss. This English translation of LDYA has 19 chapters and is 410 pages long.  We are about 1/3 into the text.

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