Tradition after the breaking of the thread of tradition: an approach from the perspective of Hannah Arendt

Abstract

In this paper, I want to discuss one of Arendt’s best known statements, that of the contemporary breaking of the thread of tradition. Paradoxically, the crisis of tradition coincides today with the rise of memory. For this reason I want to ask the following question: Is this a contradiction and does this diagnosis force us to revise the thesis that tradition is in crisis? Or is it rather a logical consequence and must contemporary appeals to memory be understood precisely within the framework of the crisis of tradition?

Keywords: Hannah Arendt, tradition, memory, museums.