I am reading the book "The
Burnout Society" by Byung-Chul Han. It is a very short book, only
about 50 pages. Han is a Korean-born philosopher, now active in Germany. He has
published a series of short books.
I
read this book as a serious critique of our modern society which Han gives
different names, for instant 'the achievement society'. He argues that modern
society has developed a culture where we believe we can do anything, “yes, we
can”, where we are measured based on our achievements. He makes the case that
people get sick and depressed not because they are burdened by what he calls
disciplinary responsibility "but the imperative to achieve: the new commandment of late-modern labor society".
People get burnout because of "creative fatigue and exhausted
ability". We suffer from the "violence of positivity” that “does not
deprive, it saturates; it does not exclude, it exhausts.” Han argues that we
need more 'negativity', we need more "deep, contemplative attention",
that is, less achieving and more reflection and to reach this we need
"profound boredom" (p.12).
I
find this book fascinating, even though I only read a few chapters, am looking
forward to the rest. So, what does this have to do with design and the
philosophy of design. Well, it is obvious to me that the character of the
modern society that Han critiques includes the qualities that are commonly
revered by those who advocate design, such as the ideas to design artifacts and
systems that improves our ability to "do things" quicker, more
effortless, removed from the restrictions of time, place and community.
Designers commonly desire the creations of designs that are engaging, exciting,
and positive. Almost everything that is part of today's simplistic glorification
of design as the solution to every problem is based a philosophy that resembles
what Han is critiquing in his book. I find this extraordinary refreshing and
highly needed.
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