Philosophy of Life Sciences Group

In this iteration of the Philosophy of Life Sciences Reading group we'll explore biopolitics in the 21st century, through Byung-Chul Han's The Burnout Society. We'll focus on chapters 1-6, but it's a pretty short book so, if you have the time, feel free to read the whole thing. Anyone from any background is welcome!

Byung-Chul Han frames neurological disorders, such as ADHD and burnout, as excesses of positivity, rather than negativities, symptoms of a society that continually demands for participation and production. Have we moved beyond disciplinary power? How should we respond to a society that demands us to be always active? And, given the recent "vibe shift", is this critique of neoliberalism even relevant?

If you'd like access to the pdf, feel free to reach out to me via message. Please don’t worry too much about the RSVP list: we usually have around 5–10 people attending already.

From Goodreads:
Our competitive, service-oriented societies are taking a toll on the late-modern individual. Rather than improving life, multitasking, "user-friendly" technology, and the culture of convenience are producing disorders that range from depression to attention deficit disorder to borderline personality disorder. Byung-Chul Han interprets the spreading malaise as an inability to manage negative experiences in an age characterized by excessive positivity and the universal availability of people and goods. Stress and exhaustion are not just personal experiences, but social and historical phenomena as well. Denouncing a world in which every against-the-grain response can lead to further disempowerment, he draws on literature, philosophy, and the social and natural sciences to explore the stakes of sacrificing intermittent intellectual reflection for constant neural connection.