Book proposed by: Seth
Discussion held at: The Quill in Manchester, NH
Discussion starter(s):
- “Thoreau grounds civil disobedience in individual conscience, the individual person refusing to be an agent of injustice. Arendt explicitly critiques this, arguing that civil disobedience is fundamentally a group phenomenon requiring public, collective action. Which framing do you find more persuasive?”
- “Does Thoreau’s individualism risk becoming mere ‘conscientous objection’ in Arendt’s terms?”
- “Is Thoreau’s experience (a single night in jail for six years of unpaid taxes- which his aunt quickly paid for him) at all relevant or useful to current discussions on civil disobedience? Why or why not?”