Hannah Arendt apparently said “goodbye to philosophy once and for all” and instead preferred “thinking without bannisters” (“A worldly thinker”, Features, 26 February). However, a bannister does provide valuable support when climbing a staircase – quite reassuring after two or three floors in the early hours of Saturday morning.
I think I’d be happier if Jon Nixon’s article had included notional bannisters from Arendt’s work, to support not only my own meagre consciousness but the far trickier (and ambiguous) arena of “thinking together with others”. In other words, after a life spent thinking, Arendt’s legacy needs to be expressed as user-friendly practical tools which help others.
Neil Richardson
Kirkheaton
