Byung-Chul Han: A Critical Introduction

Byung-Chul Han is one of the most important living philosophers, renowned for his critiques of the digital age. In response to the idea that new technological devices expand our freedom, he argues that they lead to burnout and self-absorption and that we must redevelop contemplative practices which slow us down and open us up. He has brought to his thought forms of deep cosmopolitanism developed from both Zen Buddhism and a renewed Romanticism.

This book is the first critical introduction to Han's body of work. Wyllie, Stoneman, and Knepper explore Han's rich oeuvre to date and his incisive contributions to a range of disciplines, including critical theory, media studies, political philosophy, and aesthetics. They unpack his key terms and illustrate his concepts with a range of examples, revealing how the critiques of the 'achievement society' and burnout for which Han is best known in the English-speaking world build on his earlier accounts of power, violence, and mood. This broader view addresses the most frequent criticisms of Han and makes a compelling case that he is not only an insightful diagnostician of the present moment, but one whose interpretation of both Western and Eastern traditions offers wisdom for navigating the now-acute problems of modernity.

This lively book is essential reading for anyone getting to grips with Han's extraordinary work.

韓秉宙（Byung-Chul Han）是當代最重要的哲學家之一，以對數位時代的批判而聞名。對於新科技設備擴展我們自由的觀點，他認為這些設備導致人們疲憊不堪和自我專注，我們必須重新發展冥想練習，以減緩節奏並開放心靈。他的思想融合了禪宗佛教和新浪漫主義的深度世界主義形式。

這本書是對韓秉宙作品的首次批判性介紹。Wyllie、Stoneman和Knepper探索了韓秉宙迄今為止豐富的作品和他對多個學科的深入貢獻，包括批判理論、媒體研究、政治哲學和美學。他們解釋了他的關鍵詞，並以一系列例子說明他的概念，揭示了他在英語世界中以「成就社會」和疲憊而聞名的批評是如何建立在他早期對權力、暴力和情緒的描述之上的。這個更廣泛的視角回應了對韓秉宙最常見的批評，並有力地證明他不僅是當下時刻的敏銳診斷者，而且他對西方和東方傳統的詮釋為應對現代性的眾多問題提供了智慧。

這本生動的書對於任何想要深入了解韓秉宙非凡作品的人來說都是必讀之物。

Steven Knepper is Associate Professor of English and the Bruce C. Gottwald, Jr. '81 Chair for Academic Excellence at the Virginia Military Institute.
Ethan Stoneman is Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media at Hillsdale College.
Robert Wyllie is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ashland University.

Steven Knepper 是弗吉尼亞軍事學院的英語副教授，並擔任布魯斯·C·戈特瓦爾德（Bruce C. Gottwald, Jr. '81）卓越學術講座主席。
Ethan Stoneman 是希爾斯代爾學院的修辭學和媒體副教授。
Robert Wyllie 是阿什蘭大學的政治科學助理教授。