Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society
Overthink Podcast・8 minutes read
Byung-Chul Han discusses burnout in contemporary society due to the pressure to achieve and society's obsession with productivity, criticizing the excess of positivity and the collapse of negativity that lead to neuronal illnesses like depression. He contrasts the achievement society with the disciplinary society described by Foucault, highlighting the importance of contemplative immersion over hyper attention to avoid fragmented perception and passivity.
Insights
- The societal obsession with achievement and productivity, as discussed by Byung-Chul Han, leads to an excess of positivity and a collapse of negativity, resulting in neuronal illnesses like burnout and depression.
- Byung-Chul Han emphasizes the detrimental effects of hyper attention in an achievement society, hindering deep contemplation and leading to fragmented perception, advocating for the preservation of contemplative immersion to combat passivity and lack of genuine activity.
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Recent questions
What does Byung-Chul Han discuss in "The Burnout Society"?
Burnout in society due to achievement and productivity.
How does Han view depression in society?
As a social consequence of pressure to achieve.
What does Han criticize in an achievement society?
Hyper attention hindering deep contemplation.
Why does Han emphasize the vita contemplativa?
To counteract passivity and lack of genuine activity.
How does Han differentiate between tiredness in society?
Solitary exhaustion versus collective regrouping moments.
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Summary
00:00
"The Burnout Society: Achieving Exhaustion and Depression"
- Byung-Chul Han, a contemporary continental philosopher, discusses the concept of burnout in his book "The Burnout Society" due to society's obsession with achievement and productivity.
- Han highlights the excess of positivity and the collapse of negativity in contemporary society, leading to neuronal illnesses like burnout and depression.
- He contrasts the disciplinary society described by Foucault with today's achievement society, where individuals are pressured to be entrepreneurs of themselves and constantly achieve.
- Depression is seen as a social result of the pressure to achieve, characterized by creative fatigue and exhausted ability in an achievement society.
- Han criticizes hyper attention in an achievement society, which hinders deep attention and contemplative immersion, leading to fragmented perception and scattered attention.
- He emphasizes the importance of preserving contemplative immersion and the vita contemplativa, as hyperactivity and hyper attention lead to passivity and a lack of genuine activity.
- Han distinguishes between solitary tiredness, associated with exhaustion from the achievement society, and eloquent seeing or reconciliatory tiredness, which fosters collectivity and community building through shared activities and regrouping moments.
