Hannah Arendt Ch.10 of Vita Activa

In chapter 10 of the Vita Activa, Hannah Arendt describes some peculiarities of doing good works and the concept of "goodness". First of all, we have two types of evaluating good actions. The old, antique way is just doing anything good, whether public or private. With the rise of Christianity, we then see that evaluating good changes. Now, good can only be done in a private, non-public way. "The one activity taught by Jesus in word and deed is the activity of goodness, and goodness obviously harbors a tendency to hide from being seen or heard." The life "as far removed from the public realm as possible" became the the model for living a life full of good works. In this way good works are done for the good itself, not for an ulterior or personal motive. "When goodness appears openly, it is no longer goodness." She then makes a similar argument for Socrates' discussion of wisdom. According to Socrates once somebody claims to be wise he proves he isn't. The quest to be good and wise become never-ending. She then goes on to talk about how it's necessary that both wisdom and goodness involve another person. I believe that this is a reinforcement of an argument she made makes earlier in the Vita Activa that humans cannot be fully "naturally" human and be totally isolated at the same time. I agree with her analysis. Even though there are very solitary aspects in good works and wisdom, it is impossible to separate them from the public realm.