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Short-listed for the Tractatus Essay Prize an examination of the innovative strategies Arendt used to achieve intellectual freedomAfter observing the trial of Adolf Eichmann Hannah Arendt articulated her controversial concept of the ldquobanality of evilrdquo thereby posing one of the most chilling and divisive moral questions of the twentieth century How can genocidal acts be carried out by non-psychopathic people By revealing the full complexity of the trial with reasoning that defied prevailing attitudes Arendt became the object of severe and often slanderous criticism losing some of her closest friends as well as being labeled a ldquoself-hating Jewrdquo And while her theories have continued to draw innumerable opponents Arendtrsquos work remains an invaluable resource for those seeking greater insight into the more problematic aspects of human natureAnchoring its discussion in the themes of translation forgiveness dramatization and even laughter Unlearning with Hannah Arendt explores the ways in which this iconic political theorist ldquounlearnedrdquo recognized trends and patternsmdashboth philosophical and culturalmdashto establish a theoretical praxis all her own Through an analysis of the social context and intellectual influencesmdashKarl Jaspers Walter Benjamin and Martin Heideggermdashthat helped shape Arendtrsquos process Knott has formed a historically engaged and incisive contribution to Arendtrsquos legacy.