Hannah Arendt´s most important contribution to political thought may be her well-known and often-cited notion of the "right to have rights." In this incisive and wide-ranging book, Peg Birmingham explores the theoretical and social foundations of Arendt´s philosophy on human rights. Devoting special consideration to questions and issues surrounding Arendt´s ideas of common humanity, human responsibility, and natality, Birmingham formulates a more complex view of how these basic concepts support Arendt´s theory of human rights. Birmingham considers Arendt´s key philosophical works along with her literary writings, especially those on Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka, to reveal the extent of Arendt´s commitment to humanity even as violence, horror, and pessimism overtook Europe during World War II and its aftermath. This current and lively book makes a significant contribution to philosophy, political science, and European intellectual history. Peg Birmingham is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. She is co-editor of "Dissensus Communis: Between Ethics and Politics" and co-translator of Dominique Janicaud´s "Powers of the Rational" (IUP, 1994).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The Problem of Human Rights
1. The Event of Natality: The Ontological Foundation of Human Rights
2. The Principle of Initium: Freedom, Power, and the Right to Have Rights
3. The Principle of Givenness: Appearance, Singularity, and the Right to Have Rights
4. The Predicament of Common Responsibility Conclusion: The Political Institution of the Right to Have Rights

Notes
Works Cited
Index