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A review by izcanbeguscott
Vita Contemplativa: In Praise of Inactivity by Byung-Chul Han
challenging
reflective
3.5
Mostly a retread of themes Han went into greater, more inspiring detail on with "The Scent of Time". However, there are definitely good nuggets to pull away from the work overall.
I think his reading of Heidegger is more inspired and illuminating than it was previously, and I think he really gets his more precise reasoning in a row for why he wasn't fond of Arendt's arguments. Alongside this, the update for being much deeper into the social media "online 24/7" makes his discussions of temporality and digital spaces feel contemporary rather than painfully dated.
I would read this and Scent of Time in tandem to provide you a fuller understanding of Han's overall point, but this one as a standalone is just alright.
I think his reading of Heidegger is more inspired and illuminating than it was previously, and I think he really gets his more precise reasoning in a row for why he wasn't fond of Arendt's arguments. Alongside this, the update for being much deeper into the social media "online 24/7" makes his discussions of temporality and digital spaces feel contemporary rather than painfully dated.
I would read this and Scent of Time in tandem to provide you a fuller understanding of Han's overall point, but this one as a standalone is just alright.