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StillnessQuote

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.

Attributed to Hannah Arendt (The Human Condition, 1958)

Philosophy

The story behind the card

This short line circulates in quotation books under Arendt's name, but its exact wording has not been traced in her books; the idea comes from The Human Condition (1958). There Arendt argues that action, starting something new among other people, can never be undone. Without forgiveness, she writes, we would be bound for ever to the consequences of a single deed. Forgiving releases people from what they have done, so that they can act again. She pairs it with promising, the remedy for an unpredictable future.

Türkçe oku
Bağışlama, eylemin ve özgürlüğün anahtarıdır.
Hannah Arendt'e atfedilir (İnsanlık Durumu, 1958)

Bu kısa söz alıntı kitaplarında Arendt'in adıyla dolaşır, ama bu ifadeyle kitaplarında bulunamamıştır; fikir İnsanlık Durumu'ndan (1958) gelir. Arendt orada, insanların birlikte yeni bir şey başlatması demek olan eylemin geri alınamayacağını söyler. Bağışlama olmasaydı, yaptığımız tek bir işin sonuçlarına ömür boyu bağlı kalırdık. Bağışlamak insanı yaptığının yükünden kurtarır ve yeniden harekete geçebilmesini sağlar. Arendt buna, öngörülemeyen geleceğe karşı bir çare olarak söz vermeyi ekler.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Hannah Arendt
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