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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
In this philosophical essay, Byung-Chul Han warns us of the death of love. He argues that the great Greek god Eros is agonising in our modern society.
Han argues that love, passion and eroticism are dying in our world. But why is this happening? In this eassy, Han provides a deep and original analysis of our current society.
In a society of productivity, immediacy and narcissism, Eros is dying. The first and most important reason for this, according to Han, is the disappearance of the Other. The Other is understood as a whole that cannot be compared to or reduced to the Self. The Other is something that we will never fully understand. In its wholeness, the Other is mystery, fantasy, imagination, surprise and imbalance. According to Han, mystery and fantasy are the core ingredients of Eros and passion.
Without fantasy and imagination, erotic passion fades and dies. In a society where instant gratification predominates, where nothing is subtle and everything is exposed and easily accessible to consumers, imagination has no room. In a society that is far closer to pornography than eroticism, there are no gaps left for imagination to fill. Also, the modern self is individualistic and narcissistic. We are not really interested in or engaged with the Other as something radically different from us that cannot be explained or defined. We don't have the time or inclination to be bewitched by the Other because we are too preoccupied with ourselves. The Other is merely a product to be consumed. They are a means to increase our value and confidence. The Other is not an end in itself. Han paints a worrying, critical and depressive picture of our present and our social relationships, but it is accurate in many ways.
I also had some reservations about Han's views on love and passion. Yes, I agree with much of his criticism, but I also think the mystification of Eros and the idealisation of mystery, fantasy and the unknown could be problematic. It could lead us back to the traditional idealisation of romantic love, not knowing the other person, and passion wrapped in mystery, when it doesn't always have to be like that, or at least not necessarily in a traditional way.
In summary, The Agony of Eros is a thought-provoking philosophical essay that will leave readers reflecting on themselves and the world around them. Despite its brevity, it is not an easy read. I think it is accessible for any reader with a medium level of education, but Han uses slightly elevated philosophical language and does not hesitate to mention other philosophers and theories throughout the essay. However, don't let this put you off: it's a quick read and worth it, even if you don't grasp every concept completely (I don't think I did!). As a final note, I recommend reading the author's other essay, 'The Burnout Society'. I think the two essays complement each other very well and this could help to understand better the author's overall perspective.
Han argues that love, passion and eroticism are dying in our world. But why is this happening? In this eassy, Han provides a deep and original analysis of our current society.
In a society of productivity, immediacy and narcissism, Eros is dying. The first and most important reason for this, according to Han, is the disappearance of the Other. The Other is understood as a whole that cannot be compared to or reduced to the Self. The Other is something that we will never fully understand. In its wholeness, the Other is mystery, fantasy, imagination, surprise and imbalance. According to Han, mystery and fantasy are the core ingredients of Eros and passion.
Without fantasy and imagination, erotic passion fades and dies. In a society where instant gratification predominates, where nothing is subtle and everything is exposed and easily accessible to consumers, imagination has no room. In a society that is far closer to pornography than eroticism, there are no gaps left for imagination to fill. Also, the modern self is individualistic and narcissistic. We are not really interested in or engaged with the Other as something radically different from us that cannot be explained or defined. We don't have the time or inclination to be bewitched by the Other because we are too preoccupied with ourselves. The Other is merely a product to be consumed. They are a means to increase our value and confidence. The Other is not an end in itself. Han paints a worrying, critical and depressive picture of our present and our social relationships, but it is accurate in many ways.
I also had some reservations about Han's views on love and passion. Yes, I agree with much of his criticism, but I also think the mystification of Eros and the idealisation of mystery, fantasy and the unknown could be problematic. It could lead us back to the traditional idealisation of romantic love, not knowing the other person, and passion wrapped in mystery, when it doesn't always have to be like that, or at least not necessarily in a traditional way.
In summary, The Agony of Eros is a thought-provoking philosophical essay that will leave readers reflecting on themselves and the world around them. Despite its brevity, it is not an easy read. I think it is accessible for any reader with a medium level of education, but Han uses slightly elevated philosophical language and does not hesitate to mention other philosophers and theories throughout the essay. However, don't let this put you off: it's a quick read and worth it, even if you don't grasp every concept completely (I don't think I did!). As a final note, I recommend reading the author's other essay, 'The Burnout Society'. I think the two essays complement each other very well and this could help to understand better the author's overall perspective.
challenging
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
4.5/5
“The crisis of love does not derive from too many others so much as from the erosion of the Other... Eros concerns the Other in the strong sense, namely, what cannot be encompassed by the regime of the ego. Therefore, in the inferno of the same, which contemporary society is increasingly becoming, erotic experience does not exist. Erotic experience presumes the asymmetry and exteriority of the Other... The Other, whom I desire and who fascinates me, is placeless. He or she is removed from the language of sameness: “Being atopic, the Other makes language indecisive: one cannot speak of the Other, about the Other; every attribute is false, painful, erroneous, awkward.” Our contemporary culture of constant comparison (Ver-Gleichen) leaves no room for the negativity of what is atopos. We are constantly comparing one thing to another, thereby flattening them into the Same, precisely because we no longer experience the atopia of the Other. Everything is being flattened out into an object of consumption.”
“Today, we live in an increasingly narcissistic society. Libido is primarily invested in one’s own subjectivity. Narcissism is not the same as self-love. The subject of selflove draws a negative boundary between him- or herself and the Other. The narcissistic subject, on the other hand, never manages to set any clear boundaries. In consequence, the border between the narcissist and the Other becomes blurry. The world appears only as adumbrations of the narcissist’s self, which is incapable of recognizing the Other in his or her otherness — much less acknowledging this otherness for what it is. Meaning can exist for the narcissistic self only when it somehow catches sight of itself. It wallows in its own shadow everywhere until it drowns — in itself. Depression is a narcissistic malady. It derives from overwrought, pathologically distorted self-reference. The narcissistic-depressive subject has exhausted itself and worn itself down. Without a world to inhabit, it has been abandoned by the Other. Eros and depression are opposites. Eros pulls the subject out of itself, toward the Other.”
“The crisis of love does not derive from too many others so much as from the erosion of the Other... Eros concerns the Other in the strong sense, namely, what cannot be encompassed by the regime of the ego. Therefore, in the inferno of the same, which contemporary society is increasingly becoming, erotic experience does not exist. Erotic experience presumes the asymmetry and exteriority of the Other... The Other, whom I desire and who fascinates me, is placeless. He or she is removed from the language of sameness: “Being atopic, the Other makes language indecisive: one cannot speak of the Other, about the Other; every attribute is false, painful, erroneous, awkward.” Our contemporary culture of constant comparison (Ver-Gleichen) leaves no room for the negativity of what is atopos. We are constantly comparing one thing to another, thereby flattening them into the Same, precisely because we no longer experience the atopia of the Other. Everything is being flattened out into an object of consumption.”
“Today, we live in an increasingly narcissistic society. Libido is primarily invested in one’s own subjectivity. Narcissism is not the same as self-love. The subject of selflove draws a negative boundary between him- or herself and the Other. The narcissistic subject, on the other hand, never manages to set any clear boundaries. In consequence, the border between the narcissist and the Other becomes blurry. The world appears only as adumbrations of the narcissist’s self, which is incapable of recognizing the Other in his or her otherness — much less acknowledging this otherness for what it is. Meaning can exist for the narcissistic self only when it somehow catches sight of itself. It wallows in its own shadow everywhere until it drowns — in itself. Depression is a narcissistic malady. It derives from overwrought, pathologically distorted self-reference. The narcissistic-depressive subject has exhausted itself and worn itself down. Without a world to inhabit, it has been abandoned by the Other. Eros and depression are opposites. Eros pulls the subject out of itself, toward the Other.”