Far East as a weapon for revolution? Reflections on the role of Eastern philosophy in the work of Byung-Chul Han

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to expose the function of the culture and thought of the Far East, expressed in Japanese Zen Buddhism and Chinese Chan (as well as, in general, in Chinese philosophy and culture), within the thought of Byung-Chul Han. This dimension of the Korean's work has not been sufficiently deepened in the analyses that are made of him. This error leads to mistakes such as stating that there is no emancipation proposal in Han or that his work is limited to a pessimistic description of the world. Thus, the investigation that follows the bibliographic-documental research method is divided into three moments; the first exposes the foundations of the philosophy of Zen-chan Buddhism developed by Han; the second delineates the ontology of Hanian falsification and; the third, analyzes the theses on the East within Han's theoretical project.

Keywords

• eastern philosophy
• psychopolitics
• neoliberalism
• byung-chul han
• zen-chan buddhism