Hannah Arendt distinguished between 'labor' (meeting biological necessity), 'work' (creating durable objects), and 'action' (public speech and deeds that reveal the actor). She worried that modern society reduces everything to labor—the endless cycle of production and consumption—leaving no space for the political action that makes us distinctly human. Her categories challenge us to consider whether our activities merely sustain life or engage in genuinely human affairs.
It can be inferred from the text that
conceptual distinctions between types of activity may have implications for evaluating how we live
Arendt believed labor and action were identical
modern society has eliminated all production and consumption
public speech is a form of biological necessity
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. Arendt's categories help evaluate modern life.
- Context clues: Her categories "challenge us to consider" whether our activities are fully human or merely sustaining.
- Meaning: The conceptual distinctions provide evaluative tools.
- Verify: The concern that modern society "reduces everything to labor" shows evaluative use.
💡 Strategy: When concepts are used to assess how we live, infer concepts have evaluative implications.
Choice B is incorrect because she "distinguished between" them as different categories. Choice C is incorrect because she's worried production/consumption dominates, not that they're eliminated. Choice D is incorrect because action (including speech) is distinguished from labor (biological necessity).