full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Joseph Lacey: How could so many people support Hitler?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Arendt called this phenomenon “the banality of evil,” and wneard that it can emerge whenever seiocty inhibits our ability to think; or more slciaclifepy, to question our beliefs and actions in a self-reflective internal daigloue. Arendt believed this kind of tnhkinig is the only way to confront moral problems, and that our responsibility to self-reflect is especially important when independent thought is threatened. She acknowledged that critical thinking in oppressive spaces is a defiant act that requires personal courage. But it must be done regardless, which is why aedrnt still held Eichmann accountable. This thread runs throughout Arendt's work, where she continually insisted that thinking was our greatest weapon against the threats of mrnieotdy. Namely, a relentless drive for economic and technological development which would increase social aenlatioin and iniibht human freedom.

Open Cloze


Arendt called this phenomenon “the banality of evil,” and ______ that it can emerge whenever _______ inhibits our ability to think; or more ____________, to question our beliefs and actions in a self-reflective internal ________. Arendt believed this kind of ________ is the only way to confront moral problems, and that our responsibility to self-reflect is especially important when independent thought is threatened. She acknowledged that critical thinking in oppressive spaces is a defiant act that requires personal courage. But it must be done regardless, which is why ______ still held Eichmann accountable. This thread runs throughout Arendt's work, where she continually insisted that thinking was our greatest weapon against the threats of _________. Namely, a relentless drive for economic and technological development which would increase social __________ and _______ human freedom.

Solution


  1. specifically
  2. modernity
  3. dialogue
  4. alienation
  5. society
  6. arendt
  7. warned
  8. thinking
  9. inhibit

Original Text


Arendt called this phenomenon “the banality of evil,” and warned that it can emerge whenever society inhibits our ability to think; or more specifically, to question our beliefs and actions in a self-reflective internal dialogue. Arendt believed this kind of thinking is the only way to confront moral problems, and that our responsibility to self-reflect is especially important when independent thought is threatened. She acknowledged that critical thinking in oppressive spaces is a defiant act that requires personal courage. But it must be done regardless, which is why Arendt still held Eichmann accountable. This thread runs throughout Arendt's work, where she continually insisted that thinking was our greatest weapon against the threats of modernity. Namely, a relentless drive for economic and technological development which would increase social alienation and inhibit human freedom.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
arendt believed 6
uniquely evil 2


Important Words


  1. ability
  2. accountable
  3. acknowledged
  4. act
  5. actions
  6. alienation
  7. arendt
  8. banality
  9. beliefs
  10. believed
  11. called
  12. confront
  13. continually
  14. courage
  15. critical
  16. defiant
  17. development
  18. dialogue
  19. drive
  20. economic
  21. eichmann
  22. emerge
  23. evil
  24. freedom
  25. greatest
  26. held
  27. human
  28. important
  29. increase
  30. independent
  31. inhibit
  32. inhibits
  33. insisted
  34. internal
  35. kind
  36. modernity
  37. moral
  38. oppressive
  39. personal
  40. phenomenon
  41. problems
  42. question
  43. relentless
  44. requires
  45. responsibility
  46. runs
  47. social
  48. society
  49. spaces
  50. specifically
  51. technological
  52. thinking
  53. thought
  54. thread
  55. threatened
  56. threats
  57. warned
  58. weapon
  59. work