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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Best distilled in it's aphorism "One exploits oneself." Han writes scathingly against neoliberalism, against the achievement society which has inherited and internalised the repressive chains of punitive society and brought an excess of positivism and hence neuroticism, hyperattention, and burnout. I feel like I lack aspects of the psychoanalytic background necessary to engage fully with Burnout Society, and I found Han's writing difficult to penetrate at points, particularly in the search for grander narratives and through lines in the microessays or chapters that form the work. I particularly enjoyed the brief discussion on virtuality and narcissism, and on depression as complete unattachment and refutation of the principles of achievement society. Further, Han's points on the tiredness of self-sovereignty, the homines sacri status of citizens, on health and the body as something to be relentlessly optimised without concern for anything beyond biological processes, are ones that prompted a fair amount of thought in me, and I hope they evolve in to some productive discourse. Overall, this was a strong philosophical work in that illuminates and explicates a truth that is lived and felt, and in an age of 'cans', of immense personal freedom, this book is a good source of 'shoulds', or perhaps more accurately, a return to negative potency and a source of 'should nots'.
"La economía capitalista absolutiza la supervivencia. Se nutre de la ilusión de que más capital genera más vida, mayor capacidad de vivir. La rígida y rigurosa separación entre vida y muerte recubre la propia vida de una rigidez fantasmagórica. La preocupación por la vida buena deja paso a la histeria por la supervivencia."
"A partir de un determinado nivel de producción, la autoexplotación se vuelve esencialmente más eficaz y de mucho mayor rendimiento que la explotación a cargo de otros porque viene acompañada de la sensación de libertad. La sociedad del rendimiento es una sociedad de la autoexplotación. El sujeto obligado a aportar rendimientos se explota a sí mismo hasta quemarse del todo."
Byung-Chul Han
"A partir de un determinado nivel de producción, la autoexplotación se vuelve esencialmente más eficaz y de mucho mayor rendimiento que la explotación a cargo de otros porque viene acompañada de la sensación de libertad. La sociedad del rendimiento es una sociedad de la autoexplotación. El sujeto obligado a aportar rendimientos se explota a sí mismo hasta quemarse del todo."
Byung-Chul Han
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
challenging
informative
fast-paced
I lack the cerebral power at the moment to parse and decode the academic style writing of this book - but I think I could perceive some of the metaphors and concepts here.
challenging
medium-paced
Very profound! Really appreciate how psychological phenomena draw explanatory power from economic and social structures. An astute description of our times. Oddly comforting at a personal level. The writing is succinct and makes for a wonderful, poignant read.
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
medium-paced
Not the biggest fan of modern pholosofy, but i do agree with a lot of things in this book, and besides not being so transformative as i personally expect from a philosophy book i can say this is a good reading and can help a lot of people, but maybe the essay style is not for me.