Department of Philosophy Visiting Speaker Series 2011 - 2012

Hannah Arendt insists that we are morally responsible for our actions, even when we are part of a victimized group. Our reticence to judge those who choose "the lesser evil" under duress, she argues, is rooted in our suspicion that we are not free agents. In this paper I consider Arendt's claims in the context of the ongoing crisis in Israel and Palestine. Given the egregious, intractable nature of this conflict and the impotence of the world's response, it is imperative that we reflect on the conditions that sustain its momentum, one of which is the denial of victims' moral agency. Arendt's emphasis on the necessity of thinking and judging can help us formulate alternative responses to cycles of violence that leave victims claiming immunity from responsibility for their own, often brutal, acts of retribution.