Responsabilidade e banalidade do mal em Hannah Arendt: uma análise contemporânea da violência

Abstract

This study analyzes the concept of responsibility and the banality of evil inthethought of Hannah Arendt, reflecting on contexts of obedience, thoughtlessness, andviolence. The research begins with the historical and philosophical contextualizationof the twentieth century, marked by totalitarianism, understanding evil not asamonstrous exception but as a possibility inherent to the human conditionwhencritical thinking is abandoned. The first chapter presents the biographical andintellectual trajectory of Hannah Arendt, highlighting her experience as a Jewish woman, anexile,and a stateless person, as well as the conceptual foundations of her political philosophy, with emphasis on plurality, the vita activa, natality, and thefacultyofjudgment. The second chapter discusses the distinction between responsibilityandguilt, reaffirming that obedience to orders or laws does not exempt individualsfromethical accountability for their actions. The third chapter is devoted to analyzingtheconcept of the banality of evil based on the trial of Adolf Eichmann, revealingArendt’sbreak with the notion of radical evil and her understanding of evil as theresult ofthoughtlessness, bureaucratic obedience, and the absence of individual judgment. Inline with this understanding, the case of Pedro Rodrigues Filho, known as“PedrinhoMatador,” is presented, establishing a critical parallel with Eichmann. Althoughsituated in different contexts, both cases reveal the construction of self-justifyingnarratives that normalize the violence committed and distance the agent frommoral reflection. The analysis shows that the banality of evil is not restricted tototalitarianregimes but is found in any context that permits or tolerates violent practices,manifesting whenever individuals abandon inner dialogue and critical thinking. Thestudy concludes that the notion of the banality of evil remains current andfundamental for understanding personal responsibility in contemporarysociety,emphasizing that critical thinking is an indispensable condition for the preservationofhuman dignity and the common world.