Books like the human condition

The Human Condition, first published in 1958, Hannah Arendt's account of how "human activities" should be and have been understood throughout Western history. Arendt is interested in thevita activa(active life) as contrasted with thevita contemplativa(contemplative life) and concerned that the debate over the relative status of the two has blinded us to important insights about thevita activaand the way in which it has changed since ancient times. She distinguishes three sorts of activity (labor, work, and action) and discusses how they have been affected by changes in Western history.

The Human Conditionwas first published in 1958. A second edition, with an introduction by Margaret Canovan, was issued in 1998. The work consists of a prologue and six parts.