The Banality of Evil, Technocrats and Salience Frames | Hannah Arendt’s “Eichmann in Jerusalem”

This video looks at Hannah Arendt’s book, Eichmann in Jerusalem, as an origin of the term “banality of evil”. It applies it to technocrats more broadly using a salience frame model.

Image credits:
Roman Governor image: © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons

[proplay]

Your channel is so under-subbed ... they will come! You cover the MOST important topics in today's society w such a great "frame"!

[calmstro]

Brilliant presentation of the brilliant and wise Hannah Arendt! That our managerial elites can throw around “the banality of evil” as a slogan or status signal while thinking and behaving just like Eichmann shows just how important salience is to cognition.

[MendeMaria-ejbf]

I have never or seldom listened to somebody who could explaìn contents as clearly and understandably in such an pleasant way like you. Thank you very much. ❤

[gregalden]

Thanks! For this and all videos in your catalog, content I can think about all day.

[MendeMaria-ejbf]

Thank you for presenting Hannah Arendt's so important book and your analysis and reflections on it. ❤

[sklnow]

Great analysis and great information as always! It's wonderful to see a confluence of ideas and disciplines here, even if the terms are different the function remains. Shows the deep analysis we need to get out of the limits of the hyper specialized world we're in, without the baggage associated with those communities.

As a psychologist who works with ML, it's refreshing to see someone talk about systems (social and personal) and attention (Salience Frames) in such a practical way. Thank you again and please don't stop!

[nsbdnow]

"The problem with Little Eichmanns is there are so many of them."

[jerrypeters]

Wow. This presentation was incredibly well done, providing clarity for a complex subject.. An enormously heavy subject like this deserves full attention and contemplation - a salience frame of its own worth testing in our own political and employment environment.

[randygraham]

An extraordinary book that I read years ago. Glad to see you revisiting important books from decades ago rather than just staying with more contemporary writing. I recommended your review of the Peter Turchin book to a couple of people who probably aren't going to read it, but would like to understand his theories on history and political crisis.
Thank you for your time and effort. 🐼

[iExamineLife]

Thank you, a book I know of but not read, now it's on my reading list 🙏

[johnkoester]

A very thought provoking essay. I have met many people who aspire to be in leadership positions that it seems their idea of correct social management is an ideal vision of social management that benefits all. Exactly who this 'all' is more to the tune of 'everyone has their position to obediently fill in society, and everyone is responsible for their own success or misery.

[eliaslyman]

great video and honest exploration of topics that feel deafening yet ignored.

[kevinrung]

Nice job on this video. You have actually done a better job on this work or Arents' than anyone else on YouTube!

[andrewwoods]

Thanks Ashley, the salience equation is so relevant for today and in the 80s where the switching of "hats" was a device of obfuscating any relevance or responsibility for actions or directives or policies between points of view that one might hold between job, community and personal attitudes and opinions and actions. Not to mention, "Greed is good, " "free market capitalism ". Prior to that was the Conservative, and theological destruction in the Religious fields through Evangelical, Pentecostal and Wealth reward philosophy's and theology switching from notions of service and care balances within practiced personal and community living. While many resisted such thinking ; when a larger number of existers (people concerned with the stresses and provision of short term and longer-term life viability) quite reasonably so, just fell in line with the weight of manipulated thinking of the power and wealth elites. What worries me is that what has been challenging in my lifetime, is infinitely more challenging and destructive on so many new fronts for coming generations, as personal and community sacrifice in pursuit of social justice and equity climbs onto a far far more world widespread stage.

[edgarjones]

Brilliant stuff, a really well constructed piece.
So glad the algaeridims sent this my way.
Unfortunately I'm rather depressed and found the section on pavolivian withdrawal and how it breaks down in sufferers of depression most enlightening.
If you ever feel like expanding on this I'd be most keen to hear it. No matter, I'll look fwd to whatever you come up with I'm sure.
Meanwhile I'll subscribe and take a dive into your archive.
Thanks for sharing your insight

[rowmen]

I just love your videos. They always get me thinking :)

[ResurgentVoice]

Just found your channel and subbed! The algorithm looked favorably upon me and granted me access to your wisdom! Your channel deserves more subs! I read Arendt in undergrad and visited the death camps after university. Elie Wiesel’s Night was the first text I taught when I became a high school teacher. That was back in the early 2000’s. I taught about this when we were being lied into Iraq in a course on Mass Media. But even with the Patriot Act and all the lies of the George W. era, I could never fully believe we would ever be where we are today! I started openly talking about the Republican party’s embrace of the fascist playbook back in 2015, but I kept thinking, there are adults in the room. It won’t come to that. But at every step of the way, the adults in the room were blindsided or willfully blinded by their inability to contemplate the reality in front of their faces. This latest Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity has made me realize more than anything else that we actually may not avoid repeating history. Teaching as many people as possible how to think critically is one of our few defenses! Thank you for your hard work!

[sleethmitchell]

most modern atrocities occur after tasks are compartmentalized. which is the purposeful extraction of a part from the whole. this is how lynchings occur. this is how mankind will meet its end. with the willing cooperation of all its victims.

[whatwilliswastalkingabout]

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this video and appreciate your hard work. Thank you!

[kristinmeyer]

This is an excellent video, which also explains societal shifts over relatively short periods of time (as manifestations of will), in context of comparison. For example, women's rights...