Since the dawn of our human civilization, people have been trying to find the most effective way of building their behavior. Historically, the patterns of people’s activity have been directly connected to the society itself. Therefore, the social and political utility of the human operations is one of the determining factors. As a result, the behavior of the community, formed by the patterns of personalities, has become an extremely complex system of reasons and consequence.
Hannah Arendt addresses the topic of the human being’s behavior in the context of the political history. The Human Condition is her book on this subject, describing the crucial facets of the active life, which is viva activa. This extremely debatable issue finds its place in the history of the Western world, which shapes the human behavior in correspondence with the social approach. However, additionally, to the western history under the term of viva activa, the author addresses the conditions of the modern age.
In fact, the aspect of the modern representations of viva activa, examined in The Human Condition, has its specific context. Hannah Arendt places the modern age in some kind of contradiction with the idea of the modern world. According to her prologue, ‘I do not discuss the modern world, against whose background this book was written’. However, at the same time, the author states, ‘The purpose of the historical analysis, on the other hand, is to trace back modern world alienation’. As a result, the book does not only addresses the human condition amid viva activa.
The central idea of the book The Human Condition is the active life, regarded as viva activa. Viva activa, in Arendt’s understanding, is an opposite of the viva contemplativa. Under the terms of such contradiction between the key concepts, two different kinds of lifestyle create the total contrast. Talking in detail, the active life is based on activities, while the contemplative one is grounded on the contemplation.
In the prologue, the author writes, ‘”What we are doing” is indeed the central theme of this book’. This statement proves that viva activa is the idea, which creates the background for the whole study. Under the terms of the question ‘What we do’, the central idea is the activity and the active life. Again, such an identification of the book’s general approach proves that viva activa and different kinds of human activity stands in contrast of the people’s contemplation.
Nevertheless, Hannah Arendt does not ignore the concept of the contemplative life as it somehow influences the active life, too. In fact, under the terms of the western history, viva contemplativa had been standing in the center of most of the ancient philosophies for the long centuries. In the context of the Greek philosophy, any person was free to choose the ideal lifestyle, as well as the independent states were free to choose the way of establishing politics.
In this approach, however, the idea of activity was far from the idea of freedom. According to the ancient philosophers, Hannah Arendt states, ‘Since they served and produced what was necessary and useful, they could not be free, independent of human needs and wants’. Therefore, the ancient philosophy observed the active life, especially the ideas of work and labor, as the unnecessary forms of human behavior.
The philosophers of the later ages also put viva contemplativa into some special space in the general structure of the world. Hannah Arendt mentions the approach of Marx, who stated that the contemplative life is some kind of the superstructure, which stands over all other approaches towards life. Besides, such a point of view proves the contemplative way of life to stand in the base of the world. Besides, putting the contemplation into the obligatory norms of the human behavior is the characteristic of the Christian approach. This religion has been holding the key role in the society’s life, as well as in the western history for a long time, which made the idea of viva contemplativa even stronger.
However, Hannah Arendt herself does not introduce any ideas of inferiority or superiority. According to her commentary over the general course of the contemplative philosophy, viva activa and viva contemplativa are not contradictive, while still opposite. At the same time, these two concepts are not the same because they operate different factors. Besides, none of the approaches appears to be dominating or superior towards another. Therefore, the author also draws connections between viva activa and viva contemplativa as originating from the same sources and completing each other.
Nevertheless, even though the author does not claim that viva activa is the superior approach, she puts it into the natural source of life and the origins of its utility. In The Human Condition, she introduces the three crucial components of viva activa. These are labor, work, and action. In order to reflect their necessity and utility in the context of the human social and political life, the author states that these three components are fundamental as each has to do with the basic circumstances with which men received life on Earth. Therefore, the concept of the active life and its vital elements appear to be the obligatory feature of the human condition, as they are the natural identifications of the human life.
In fact, to describe all the features of viva activa, it is necessary to focus on its exact connection with the social phenomena. In the terms of Hannah Arendt’s approach, it appears to be obvious that the active life has a link with the social life, while the contemplative one corresponds with people’s private realm. In these terms, the historical context of the study appears to prove the reasons and results, found in the active life or contemplative one, when discussing its reflection in the social and political relations.
In order to conclude the part about viva activa and its nature, it is necessary to point out that the concept of viva activa consists of three parts, which are work, labor, and action. These phenomena complete each other into the complex approach of the active life, which is traditionally contradicted with the idea of the contemplative life. However, even though the ancient Greek philosophers, as well some of their later followers, put the contemplation into the center of the process of human being, Hannah Arendt gives an activity the equal level of utility. Therefore, such an attitude proves viva activa to be a crucial part of the human condition, which does not oppose other natural facets of human personalities.
Labor
One of the crucial components of viva activa is labor. Hannah Arendt refers to labor as a distinct concept, which is different from the idea of work. Both these definitions appear to be the elements of the active life. However, they have different characteristics, which make viva activa the complex of several related phenomena.
The concepts of labor and work are not frequently discussed in western philosophies. The thing is that their difference never appeared to be the key theme of any of the prominent philosophers of most of the previous studies. However, the fact that these concepts ought to be described as the separated ones is proven by the difference in the words. Hannah Arendt herself proves these concepts to be distinct by comparing their names in some of the western languages. According to her suggestions, these two components faced indifference from the side of the philosophers, while their meaning and utility base on the fact of their difference.
The aim of the labor is to supply oneself with everything necessary for satisfactory living. The labor is a process of doing something to get the fruits, which can provide people with the means to survive. Besides, labor makes human being busy, which also satisfies the requirement to feel necessary.
Another point about the labor is that it is eternal. The process of labor means to have no end because of its products, or fruits, are short-terms. People always require new supplies to live, which makes labor a permanent state. Besides, the actions people do to receive the products they want are circular. Therefore, there appears a point of futility because labor has no final aim but exists permanently to provide people with the source of life and make them able to reproduce.
Work
The crucial difference between labor and work is their timeline. Labor is eternal because it has no final goal to reach and, therefore, no precise end. Work, in turn, has an exact aim and, as a result, has a strongly marked end. In these terms, work can stand as a short-term process, while labor is a long-term occupation.
Another distinctive feature is the identifiers of labor and work. The process is identified as work due to its result and its significance, in opposite to the labor, which is identified by the worker and the supplies he receives. Hence, work is a result of some kind of violation of the natural way of living. The product of the work, even though not obligatory embodied in the physical object, changes the reality. Therefore, one of the key characteristics of the work’s result is the change it makes to the world.
During the western history, a number of philosophers address the concept of work as something, which has an end. For example, utilitarian theory focuses on the utility, which, however, do not distinguish the ideas of value and worth. I
The Boundaries between Work and Labor
Hannah Arendt examines the concept of work in its close connection with the concept of labor. As a result, the condition of these two ideas blurred appears to be one of the themes in The Human Condition. In these terms, the author introduces the phenomena of value and worth. According to her point of view, these formulations cannot substitute each other, as they hold the different meaning. Value, for instance, refers to the human needs and requirements, which is closer to the approach of labor. Under the influence of the skyrocketing speed of economic development, the modern society does not distinguish these concepts.
In fact, the mixed understanding of ‘for the sake of’ and ‘in order to’ makes the boundaries between work and labor blur. In the context of the natural development of the human society, these concepts are not to be substitutive. Labor and work have their own aims and operate with different means. As a result, the mix of these ideas can lead the society in the wrong way. Nevertheless, such a blurring of the boundaries have the negative consequences not only for the society in general but for the personalities, too. Labor exists to satisfy the mundane needs and provide people with chances to live. Work, in turn, offers the result, embodied in change. For example, the works of art are the result of work, which was a short-time process with an end. However, the occupation of a farmer, on the other hand, is labor, which supplies the worker regularly with the means to live.
Action
Among other components of the active life, action is responsible for establishing the interpersonal connections. Action includes both verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as the behavior. In the context of the traditional relationships between human beings, it appears to be obvious that building the connections with other people is one of the key aims of human activity. However, in these terms, action represents the means, with the use of which people interact.
Moreover, this component of viva activa highlights the personality. Both words and deeds distinguish all people, encouraging them to think of themselves as unique creations of the universe. As a result, action is necessary for the self-identification and, therefore, self-realization. Actions appear to be visible for not only their masters but for other people, too. This fact makes action an extremely social phenomenon, which can be observed from different perspectives. Thus, action is a vital component of the human condition, as well as of the human social nature.
Labor, Work, and Action in My Life
I am a typical college student, so my life consists of a number of traditional occupations. In fact, all the components of the active life, such as labor, work, and action, are represented in my mundane routine.
The essential example of labor in my life is some seasonal job I do. In fact, at the time of summer vacations, I pursue several careers. In fact, these vocational jobs are the representation of labor in my life, because they provided me with the means to survive. Despite the fact that the jobs I have taken for not a long time, they intend to be eternal and cyclical.
Besides, I regularly do my household chores. On the one hand, my participation in the family life is a help for my relatives, which makes our family even more solid. On the other hand, this type of activity can be regarded as labor. Firstly, I do this labor regularly. Secondly, the household chores is a way for me to get shelter and food. Of course, not literally, but metaphorically my participation in the common mundane routine is the labor I do to receive the needed resources.
The work in my life embodies in receiving education and participating in the family business. Firstly, education is my current work because it has a precise end, which is getting a degree. The diploma, which is a result of the college education, cannot perish because it becomes permanent. Besides, the result of this work makes some change to my life, offering an opportunity to find a full-time job as a labor.
Moreover, being a part of the family business is my work, because it also focuses on the experience and changes received. In fact, now I get neither any fixed salary nor other products for life. Therefore, this participation has an end too. The result of my current occupation in the family business is the full-time cooperation and a place of a worker there. Finally, both college education and my family business provide me with worth, not value. Hence, these activities are my work.
Discussing the reflection of action in my life, I want to point out that it appears to be obvious that as a college student I communicate a lot. Therefore, my words and deeds, which are observed by other people, are the exact action. For example, I communicate with my group and classmates, even in my spare time. Besides, I have relatives and friends to spend my time. Therefore, the things I do to the people and with the people, who surround me, distinguish me from other people and provide me with some sort of self-identification.
