Arendtian Understanding and Feminism

Aoife McInerney

doi:10.54195/HSOV8373

Arendtian Understanding and Feminism

Authors

Aoife McInerney

Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Limerick

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/HSOV8373_CH15

Synopsis

Aoife McInerney, in her article, “Feminism and Understanding: An Arendtian Account,” discusses Hannah Arendt’s concept of understanding in light of how it addresses experiences of being alienated from the world and helps to overcome those experiences. Understanding to Arendt is an unending activity by which we come to terms with and reconcile ourselves to reality, and try to be at home in the world. This is the existential and alienating condition of those who recognize themselves as the victims of – and even the unwitting perpetrators of – systems of oppression. Arendtian understanding means to reconcile one’s self to the times in which one lives without having to accept them and, as such, aligns with the experiences of feminists.

Author Biography

Aoife McInerney, Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Limerick

Aoife McInerney is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Philosophy at both the University of Limerick, Ireland, and Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her research centers on the philosophy of Hannah Arendt and its intersection with the phenomenological tradition. Her project investigates the resources within Arendt’s work for the successful navigation of both the political and, more generally, the natural world, in the face of current ecological crises. Her research interests include political philosophy, phenomenology, continental philosophy, feminism, and the philosophy of culture. Her project is funded by the Irish Research Council and the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship. Her recent publications include “Reconceiving Solidarity in the Wake of Plurality” (2022).