This collection of essays addresses a broad range of subjects from Augustine to Kierkegaard and beyond, with examinations of existentialism which are enriched by her personal connections to both Jaspers and Heidegger. One of the most important group of essays addresses the titular subject of understanding itself. While addressing questions such as what is the proper basis for morality when faced with "the breakdown of its structure", she uses a thought process that I found not dissimilar to that of Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Philosophical Investigations.

She also considered the concept of "balance of power" both with regard to relations between nation states, but even more important she addresses the balance of power between branches of our constitutional government as based on the writings of Montesquieu among others. In addition she discusses the issue of fear in tyranny to which I would immediately draw comparisons with the thought of Machiavelli. This leads to raising questions like what is the nature of the "double standard "status of man as both citizen and individual".

One element that holds all of the essays together is the deep thinking of Arendt herself. This is evident in her method that continually goes back to the source of the issues and ideas under consideration referencing classical philosophy and religion where relevant. It is this deep thinking that makes this collection of essays essential for our consideration of how to understand the politics and ideological issues of the twenty-first century. ( )

El título, Pensar sin asideros, proviene de la descripción que la propia Arendt hace de su actividad como pensadora, una actividad que la autora tuvo que llevar a cabo sin los pilares de apoyo tradicionales —políticos, filosóficos, morales o religiosos—, pues estos habían desaparecido con el surgimiento del totalitarismo. En su conjunto, los ensayos, conferencias, reseñas, entrevistas, cartas y discursos aquí incluidos dan fe de la incansable actividad de la mente y del carácter de la autora, al tiempo que familiarizan al lector con una figura que apenas ha sido comprendida y que solo ahora comienza a ser apreciada. Arendt era una pensadora en busca no de la verdad metafísica, sino del significado de las apariencias y de los acontecimientos. No ofrecía respuestas, sino preguntas, y si escribió lo que pensaba, fue fundamentalmente para ayudar a otros a pensar por sí mismos, a descubrir que todas y cada una de las hebras de la libertad humana están entretejidas con el coraje.

Readers of Arendt will likely admit that there is an unusual amount of cohesiveness to her writing, particularly across works like The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition, as well as between Eichmann in Jerusalem and the posthumously published collection Responsibility and Judgment. (This is an ironic distinction considering how Arendt believed it was the mark of great thinkers to be burdened by the occasional contradiction within their work.) Essays in Understanding is therefore a somewhat surprising read and a welcome opportunity in which to discover how exactly Arendt worked through certain ideas, many of which at one time were not so clearly held together. The reader of this volume will be able to appreciate a definite sophistication and sharpening of her work over time. Not for the beginner but certainly of interest to the Arendt enthusiast. ( )

An important collection of essays by one of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century.