The Human Condition (Arendt book)

The Human Condition, first published in 1958, is Hannah Arendt's account of how "human activities" should be—and have been—understood throughout Western history.

Arendt reevaluates the modern relevance of the vita activa (active life), in contrast with the vita contemplativa (contemplative life), which was esteemed in older philosophy. She airs her concerns that the debate over the relative status of the two has blinded us to important insights about the vita activa and how 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.