Mediocre evil.
The self-perception of the mass murderer and genocide murderer Adolf Eichmann in the people's imagination is an ordinary officer who is loyal to the Führer and executes orders. He himself claims to have no hatred for Jews. people. It is at the philosophical level that Hannah Arendt wants to explain this cognitive contrast.
What Arendt learned from his teacher, Heidegger, is that people exist because they can think. When people give up thinking and only know how to execute, the part that makes him human is cancelled, he loses the ability to judge value, loses morality, and becomes a tool of totalitarianism. It is the evil of mediocrity.
But the public does not accept this explanation - how can you listen to his sophistry, how can you understand the villain, how can you say that a big villain is an ordinary official? Aren't you talking about the wicked? Aren't you Jew yourself, you have no feelings. Do you understand that he is sympathizing with him?
This is obviously confusing two levels of academics with emotional intervention. To this, Arendt's answer is: trying to understand does not mean forgiveness, it does not mean forgiveness. I'm in academic discussion, why are you attacking my personality.
Arendt's abuse and attacks reflect another kind of non-thinking: not trying to understand, not thinking about the motives of Eichmann's actions, is itself a form of laziness. On the other hand, trying to understand and make moral evaluations goes hand in hand. Arendt does not deny Eichmann's actions by trying to understand his actions. On the contrary, she wants to reflect on why this kind of evil happened. appear.
Therefore, the opposite of Eichmann is not the Jew, but the man. He cancels his humanity (morality, values) as a human being and becomes a tool. And the reason for this phenomenon is totalitarianism. It's not radical or trite, it's extreme.
And those who abuse Arendt, many people are not on the same channel as her. Indeed, taking the moral high ground and saying "I don't understand" is, utilitarianly, beneficial. "I" are good, so "I" do not understand these evils. And "I" hates evil, "I" has strong empathy, and you don't. You're talented, but you're mean to death. - This is their logic. Even now, when watching dramas with villains and watching social news, this logic is still everywhere in the comment area.
The other half of the title is a hypocrite. What it means is self-explanatory.
People should not give up the ability and right to think.
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