Learning for the love of the world

: phenomenological examinations of thinking, responsibility, and compassion in post-Holocaust times

Abstract

Hannah Arendt was occupied with the notion of feeling at home in the world, which is a running theme throughout her work. To be at home in the world, is to relate to it, and to love the world enough to take responsibility for it. Loving the world, can also mean that we take responsibility for others within it. Holocaust education is a topic that is highly contended, and often educators, policy makers, and scholars find it difficult to come to an agreement as to what it should achieve. This thesis takes a phenomenological approach which considers learning in post-Holocaust times in its broadest sense. Whilst acknowledging that a lot of Holocaust education happens in schools, this thesis is not entirely concerned with formal Holocaust education. This thesis considers what can be learnt from the Holocaust in relation to what it means to learn and to live in the world. Learning is inextricably linked to our relationship with the world. The Holocaust represented an ultimate breakdown in learning for the love of the world. Learning from the Holocaust through an Arendtian lens can reveal to us our responsibility to think, to be political, and to have compassion. Ultimately, this thesis argues for bringing all of these things together into dialectical compassion, which combines critical thinking and compassion as an ultimate manifestation of learning for the love of the world in post-Holocaust times.

Date of Award	8 Nov 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Marie Morgan (Supervisor) & Wayne Veck (Supervisor)