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On God. Thinking with Simone Weil

On God. Thinking with Simone Weil

Our review

If Byung-Chul Han diagnosed us with the "burnout society," in this book he offers us the antidote. But he doesn't do it alone: he invokes the French philosopher Simone Weil. This essay is not a dogmatic religious treatise, but a passionate defense of " absolute attention." Han tells us that we have lost God not because we are atheists, but because we are incapable of paying attention. We live distracted, and God only dwells where there is silence and a slow gaze.

It is a beautiful text, almost a prayer, that both hurts and heals. Ideal for reading in sips, highlighting a lot, and closing the book to look out the window. Less digital noise and more fertile emptiness.

🏆 PRINCESS OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR COMMUNICATION AND HUMANITIES 2025

Book details

Synopsis

In this brilliant essay, the South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han dialogues with the work of the French mystic and philosopher Simone Weil to address the crisis of spirituality in the contemporary era. Han argues that digitalization and prevailing narcissism have eliminated "transcendence": there is no longer an "Other" before whom to be silent and listen.

Through concepts such as "decreation" and receptive passivity, the author proposes recovering a contemplative way of life. God, in this text, is not a dogmatic figure, but the name given to that profound and silent attention that we have forgotten to practice. An essential book for understanding what we lose when we gain connectivity.

About the author

Byung-Chul Han (Seoul, 1959) is one of the most widely read and translated philosophers and essayists in the world today. He studied Philosophy, German Literature, and Catholic Theology in Freiburg and Munich. He is currently a professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK). He is the author of global bestsellers such as The Burnout Society, The Agony of Eros, and Contemplative Life, works that incisively dissect the ills of late neoliberal society.

Technical details

  • Author: Byung-Chul Han

  • Publisher: Paidós

  • Binding: Paperback with flaps

  • Pages: 135

  • Edition: 2025
Regular price €14,16 EUR
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