Unpacking 'The Burn Out Society': Prof. Blaschko on Byung Chul Han and Profound Boredom

Join us in this thought-provoking video as Professor Paul Blaschko from the University of Notre Dame delves into the core ideas presented in philosopher Byung-Chul Han's influential book "The Burnout Society."

Professor Blaschko explores the concept of burnout from a philosophical standpoint, critically examining Han's claim of modern society's increased susceptibility to it. In his analysis, he highlights Han's characterization of our era as an "achievement society," reflecting on how our relentless pursuit of productivity and accomplishment often leads to psychological exhaustion and disengagement.

Taking it a step further, Blaschko draws connections between Han's arguments and the ancient philosophical debate about the superior way of life: one driven by action or one anchored in contemplation. This exploration helps us understand the role of contemplation in counteracting burnout, shedding light on Han's notion of "profound boredom" as a requisite for genuine contemplation.

#Philosophy #Burnout #AchievementSociety #ByungChulHan #PaulBlaschko #NotreDame

[andrewsstuffy]

One of the subtle aspects of Han’s theory, often overlooked, is that achievement society has not replaced disciplinary society, but rather, the external structures of discipline have transformed and become internalised, or are directed at the psyche, (as if forming its very soul, rather than conditioning it) so that the achievement subject is now internally disciplined as the master and slave of itself. This is a “continuation”, or evolution, of the disciplinary society in which the world Foucault described is now turned inward in the form of the absolute slave—the slave who wants to become master and the master who has become enslaved. This internal discipline is driven by the modern rise of hyper-individualism that he defines as valuing freedom of achievement, performance, efficiency, and self-optimisation as a means of affirming its own agency (and the power structures that create it). But this is nothing but a manifestation of smart power in which subjects act according to the will of an external power (neoliberal capitalism) but interpret their actions as if they were coming from their freedom—false consciousness. The achievement subject then exploits itself because it has been disciplined according to a system that uses freedom is a form of control. Han says there is no break between disciplinary and achievement society, continuity prevails. Han often uses stark contrasts is his aphoristic writing but a closer reading reveals a more complicated relationship between disciplinary society and achievement society.

This has led to some criticisms of Han, as Foucault scholars look around and point to instances where disciplinary society still exists, or places in Foucault's writing where he anticipates something like the neoliberal subject who is self-entrepreneurial. But these kinds of criticisms miss completely what Han is doing as well as often misunderstanding his theory, mainly because they do not read all his works (from what my research has found). On the subject of what he is doing? I think he is creating a new style of philosophy for the twenty first century that starts with a rejection of the usual academic mode of inquiry. He writes in a very aphoristic style, unlike modern academic work, more like Nietzsche, but his work draws on scholarship so it is not like popular philosophy either. His interpretations of modern life hit the mark because they are well researched and don’t get bogged down in conceptual analysis or endless debate but rather they present a holistic view of our condition for the reader to interpret and do some of the work figuring out what the hell he is talking about. In this sense Han’s work invites the reader to become an active participant in the thinking and interpretation forms a part of this engagement.

Oh yeah, I loved your video. Thanks..
Yes, there is a general misunderstanding that living an "active" life can be very passive.

[richardouvrier]

The Burn Out Society caused by the pressure of status anxiety to achieve.

[sstraitor]

the way this video is shot is incredibly ironic

[brokenrecord]

Re The Great Resignation - 
The venom spewed by those that have given (wasted) their whole life to the system on these people that finally said
"This is bullshit. You can't have my life for a few bucks."
---I just retired a couple of weeks ago. Call me a quitter. 😁