{"product_id":"vita-contemplativa-in-praise-of-inactivity-paperback-softback-9781509558018","title":"Vita Contemplativa; In Praise of Inactivity (Paperback \/ softback) 9781509558018","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eVita Contemplativa\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eIn Praise of Inactivity\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eByung-Chul Han (Author), Daniel Steuer (Translated by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509558018, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 10 November 2023\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e128 pages\u003cbr\u003e20.3 x 13.7 x 0.8 cm, 0.181 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Han's message about the importance of recovering the art of inactivity makes a serious point: if we stay on the hamster wheel of activity, we risk self-destruction.\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eParliament Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A synthesis and expansion of Han's earlier work on contemplation ... reads like a précis for a new stage in Han's writings, one with roots in his garden.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Lamp\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"... fascinating.... There is a palpable beauty, at once philosophical and aesthetic, to Han's vision.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eJoshua Cohen, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Han's enquiries into the different regions of contemporary experience, including work, time, love and art, yield a remarkably consistent project of thought, a relentless critique of the spiritual and political privations of digital capitalism.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAeon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn our busy and hurried lives, we are losing the ability to be inactive. Human existence becomes fully absorbed by activity – even leisure, treated as a respite from work, becomes part of the same logic. Intense life today means first of all more performance or more consumption. We have forgotten that it is precisely inactivity, which does not produce anything, that represents an intense and radiant form of life.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor Byung-Chul Han, inactivity constitutes the human. Without moments of pause or hesitation, acting deteriorates into blind action and reaction. When life follows the rule of stimulus–response and need–satisfaction, it atrophies into pure survival: naked biological life. If we lose the ability to be inactive, we begin to resemble machines that simply function. True life begins when concern for survival, for the exigencies of mere life, ends. The ultimate purpose of all human endeavour is inactivity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn a beautifully crafted ode to the art of being still, Han shows that the current crisis in our society calls for a very different way of life: one based on the \u003ci\u003evita contemplative\u003c\/i\u003e. He pleads for bringing our ceaseless activities to a stop and making room for the magic that happens in between. Life receives its radiance only from inactivity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. Views of Inactivity\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2. A Marginal Note on Zhuangzi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3. From Acting to Being\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4. Absolute Lack of Being\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5. The \u003ci\u003ePathos\u003c\/i\u003e of Action\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6. The Coming Society\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Philosophy [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Philosophy\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Philosophy%20%5BHP%5D%22\"\u003eHP\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52173700104472,"sku":"9781509558018","price":13.18,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509558018.jpg?v=1781167480","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/vita-contemplativa-in-praise-of-inactivity-paperback-softback-9781509558018","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}