The Burnout Society

Book • 2015

Byung-Chul Han interprets the widespread malaise in modern society as an inability to manage negative experiences in an age characterized by excessive positivity and the universal availability of people and goods.

He argues that the shift from a disciplinary society to an achievement society, where individuals are driven by self-monitoring and the desire to achieve, leads to auto-exploitation and burnout.

Han draws on literature, philosophy, and the social and natural sciences to explore the consequences of sacrificing intermittent intellectual reflection for constant neural connection and the impact of hyperattention and multitasking on mental health and culture.

Mentioned by

Mentioned in 27 episodes

Mentioned as a book Cal read that is popular among Gen Z and a bit more accessible than other continental philosophy.

1,768 snips

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

Mentioned by

Cal Newport

as a popular philosopher whose work provides a philosophical guide to the modern technological environment.

1,122 snips

Ep. 357: What Worries the Internet’s Favorite Philosopher?

Mentioned by a listener and

Cal Newport

in relation to burnout and modern society.

963 snips

Ep. 298: Rethinking Attention

Referenced in connection to story selling that almost everyone ends up doing about themselves.

761 snips

Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration

Mentioned by

Stephen West

as a book by Byung-Chul Han discussing the changes in Western society since the 1980s.

734 snips

Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han

Mentioned by

Maryanne Wolf

when discussing the accelerated pace of modern life and its impact on attention.

524 snips

Rethinking School in the Age of AI

Mentioned by

Brett McKay

and Stephen Knepper throughout the podcast as a contemporary philosopher whose work explores burnout, the achievement society, and the palliative society.