The Catalyst of Transformation
James Salter’s 1975 novel, “Light Years,” posits a profound notion: a mere paragraph or single statement possesses the capacity to pivot one’s existence dramatically. For Kevin Maret, an art student at the University of Idaho, this epiphanic encounter transpired upon perusing Byung-Chul Han’s “In the Swarm: Digital Prospects,” a succinct monograph disseminated in English by M.I.T. in 2017. Maret’s initial brush with Han’s philosophy occurred in May 2023, as he stumbled upon an Instagram video elucidating Han’s theories. Compelled by curiosity, Maret procured “In the Swarm” from his university’s library. Han’s incisive, aphoristic prose resonated deeply with Maret, crystallizing his disquiet with the omnipresent digital milieu. Maret recounted some of Han’s impactful aphorisms: “The occupants of the digital panopticon are not prisoners. Their element is illusory freedom. They feed the digital panopticon with information by exhibiting themselves and shining a light on every part of their lives.” Maret, enthralled, devoured the book in a mere two hours.
The Embrace of a Modern Sage
Since that transformative reading, Maret has perpetually kept “In the Swarm” on loan, treating it as a talisman. “I can slip this into a jacket pocket when I venture to the coffee shop or the field nearby,” he shared. Maret expanded his collection with Han’s other works: “The Transparency Society,” “Saving Beauty,” and “The Agony of Eros,” all characterized by their concise, manifesto-like format, rarely exceeding a hundred pages. Maret belongs to a burgeoning contingent of readers who revere Han as a sage of the digital age. Elizabeth Nakamura, an art-gallery associate in San Francisco, experienced a similar enlightenment during the early pandemic lockdown after a Discord suggestion led her to Han’s work. She downloaded “The Agony of Eros” from Libgen, a notorious repository for pirated e-books. Nakamura, who exclusively owns Han’s works in PDF form, described the monograph’s impact: “The overexposure and self-aggrandizement fostered by social media have annihilated the possibility of genuine erotic experience, which necessitates an encounter with an other.” She exclaimed, “I’m like queening out reading this,” utilizing Gen Z vernacular for ecstatic enjoyment. “It’s a meme, not in the humorous sense, but in its concise, easily disseminated nature. I can share this with friends who aren’t avid readers to provoke thought,” she elaborated. Han, akin to a Sartre for the screen age, articulates our pervasive digital malaise with striking clarity.
The Philosophical Journey of Byung-Chul Han
Born in 1959 in South Korea, Han initially pursued metallurgy in Seoul to appease his pragmatic parents. At twenty-two, he relocated to Germany, ostensibly to continue his studies but pivoted to philosophy, concentrating on Martin Heidegger. In 1994, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg and subsequently taught phenomenology, aesthetics, and religion, eventually joining the Berlin University of the Arts faculty. Despite a prolific publishing record over the past two decades, Han has eschewed interviews and rarely ventured beyond Germany. John Thompson, director of Polity, a UK-based independent publisher that has released fourteen of Han’s books since 2017, observed that the demand for Han’s work has burgeoned organically, driven by grassroots enthusiasm rather than conventional review coverage. “He’s like an engine. The ideas and the books are just flowing,” Thompson remarked.
The Resonance of “The Burnout Society”
Han’s seminal work, “The Burnout Society,” initially published in German in 2010, predated Anne Helen Petersen’s examination of “millennial burnout” by nearly a decade. Han identified “the violence of positivity” stemming from “overproduction, overachievement, and overcommunication,” asserting that the relentless stimulation, particularly from the Internet, paradoxically numbs our capacity for genuine feeling or comprehension. Ironically, Han’s works, despite their critique of digital overindulgence, propagate effortlessly through the very channels he critiques. His aphoristic style, distilled into terse, unembellished sentences, flatters the reader into believing these insights are their own. “The Burnout Society” and Han’s other books have become staples of YouTube explainer videos and TikTok summaries. His ideas have particularly resonated with those in aesthetics—artists, curators, designers, and architects—even though academia has not fully embraced him. In 2017, the Los Angeles Review of Books tentatively labeled him “as good a candidate as any for philosopher of the moment.” His works have been translated into over a dozen languages, with “The Burnout Society” alone selling over a hundred thousand copies across Latin America, Korea, Spain, and Italy. A Beijing museum director noted, “The Chinese art world is obsessed with him.” Spanish author and critic Alberto Olmos likened Han to a “wonderful DJ of philosophy,” seamlessly blending references—Barthes, Baudrillard, Benjamin—into compelling new combinations. In 2023, K-pop star RM of BTS recommended “The Agony of Eros” in a Dazed Korea interview, remarking, “You might find yourself deeply frustrated because the book suggests that the love we are currently experiencing is not love.”
Personal Encounters with Han’s Philosophy
My introduction to Han was through “Non-things,” prominently displayed in the small-press section of an independent bookstore. The enigmatic title and postmodern cover—a collage of skyscrapers viewed from different angles—drew me in. In “Non-things,” Han contends that online, we encounter an overload of information—i.e., non-things—that detracts from our engagement with tangible objects in the real world: “The digital screen determines our experience of the world and shields us from reality.” Reading Han, akin to perusing the Bible, involves flipping through, finding a provocative line, and pondering its implications. Each sentence encapsulates the essence of the book, and each book reflects the totality of his oeuvre, rendering deep dives unnecessary. Han’s observation in “Non-things” that “The smartphone is a mobile labor camp in which we voluntarily intern ourselves” is particularly striking. It’s a koan to meditate on, evoking self-loathing for our screen addiction. I continued reading, hoping Han might offer some redemption.
“The Crisis of Narration” and Its Implications
Han’s latest English-translated book, “The Crisis of Narration,” released in the U.S. recently, continues his thematic exploration. Like comic books, Han’s volumes seem to form an extended, episodic narrative, with consistent cover designs creating a cohesive visual brand. This book examines the decline of “storytelling” as a meaningful mode of making sense of life in an era dominated by bullet points and edited clips. It builds on the argument of “Non-things,” lamenting not the lack of tangible objects but our diminished capacity for narrative meaning-making. Han posits that digital platforms value data over narratives, eschewing reflective storytelling. This might explain why my meticulously curated Instagram account feels disjointed, despite the effort invested in it. Han’s concept of “information,” juxtaposed with narration, underscores a non-data-driven imaginative capacity, reminiscent of the ubiquitous yet hollow “content” of contemporary culture. In “The Crisis of Narration,” Han writes, “In digital late modernity, we conceal the nakedness—the absence of meaning in our lives—by constantly posting, liking, and sharing. The noise of communication and information is supposed to ensure that life’s terrifying vacuity remains hidden.”
The Dichotomy of Han’s Reception
To the digitally entrenched mind, Han’s insights are both validating and condemning. His status as a philosophical guide to younger generations is bolstered by the rare glimpses of his personal image. In photos, Han often dons black, favoring an elegant, worn leather jacket and a thin scarf. His long hair, typically pulled back, and his luminous skin add to his enigmatic aura. Han’s offline existence—he eschews social media, writes three sentences a day, and spends his time nurturing plants and playing piano—seems to suggest an otherworldly wisdom. Charles Pidgeon, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford studying Internet literature, described Han’s work as “old-fashioned humanism,” meant to reorient one’s relationship with the world. However, Pidgeon also noted that Han’s digestible declarations don’t always withstand close examination. He cited “The Burnout Society” ’s argument about the shift from an “immunological society” to a “neuronal society,” pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the persistent relevance of immunological barriers.
Han’s Relevance and Limitations
In “The Crisis of Narration,” Han risks appearing overly detached from his subject matter. He critiques the modern obsession with “stories,” observing that while the term is a buzzword, we’ve lost a deeper capacity for narrative meaning. Though Han’s criticisms of social media’s self-promotional nature are valid, he overlooks the meaningful connections and self-expression these platforms can facilitate, a significant oversight in today’s digital age. Despite this, we don’t turn to Han for comprehensive solutions; his sixty-something perspective might not fully grasp the dual nature of platforms like TikTok. Yet, he misses how social media allows unprecedented freedom in self-narrativization, constructing identities in ways traditional media never could.
Han’s Paradoxical Influence
One must wonder about Han’s thoughts on his ideas thriving in the very digital landscape he critiques. Readers often seek definitive answers about technology’s impact—whether it’s good or bad and how to navigate it. Han, however, offers no quick fixes; his writings are readily condensed into digestible online lessons. Han’s critique of excess digital consumption, paradoxically, is compatible with it. His works are another set of fashionable ideas, pushed through SEO, consumed in bite-sized chunks. This irony reflects Han’s own assertion that one can never fully escape the system they critique. Yet, his austere style speaks for itself, resisting digital culture’s demand for personal branding. Han’s revelation is that personas are unnecessary. If Han engaged on TikTok, most would inquire about his leather jacket brand rather than his philosophical insights. Until we embody his ideas, his writings serve as aspirational symbols, prompting reflection and conversation among readers like Maret, who enthusiastically declares, “The Han Hive is activated.”
This article was originally published on newyorker. Read the orignal article.
FAQs: Answering Common Questions About Byung-Chul Han
- What are some of Byung-Chul Han’s most influential works?
Han’s seminal works include “The Burnout Society,” “The Agony of Eros,” and “In the Swarm: Digital Prospects.” These texts explore themes ranging from digital culture to the erosion of traditional values in the modern world.
- What sets Byung-Chul Han’s philosophy apart from other contemporary thinkers?
Han’s philosophy combines rigorous academic scholarship with accessible language and profound insights. His ability to distill complex ideas into concise aphorisms makes his work both intellectually stimulating and easily digestible.
- How has Byung-Chul Han’s work been received by the academic community?
While Han’s work has garnered widespread acclaim among readers, it has also sparked debate and criticism within the academic community. Some scholars praise his interdisciplinary approach and provocative ideas, while others question the depth of his analysis.
- What are some common misconceptions about Byung-Chul Han’s philosophy?
One common misconception is that Han’s philosophy is overly pessimistic or nihilistic. In reality, while he offers a critical perspective on contemporary society, his work also contains elements of hope and possibility for positive change.
- How can individuals apply Byung-Chul Han’s insights to their own lives?
By engaging with Han’s ideas and critically reflecting on their own relationship with technology and society, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. Han’s philosophy encourages readers to question prevailing norms and values and to cultivate a more mindful and ethical approach to life in the digital era.