The Death of Eros Author: [Germany] Han Bingzhe Publisher: CITIC Press

【Content Introduction】

Eros is the courage to deny oneself and affirm others.

Love is closely related to others and is the territory that individuals cannot conquer in their own kingdom.

Eros presupposes transcendence and radical uniqueness. Today’s society is increasingly becoming a homogenized hell, and the experience of eros is not part of it.

The internal crisis of the individual is that everything becomes an object of consumption, thus destroying the desire for love. The other that attracts the self and is desired by the self has nowhere to live.

This is a society without love.

The death of eros is the death of self-reflection.

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Han Bingzhe's works series (produced by Jianshi Chengbang)

"Psychopolitics"

Psychopolitik

Death of Eros

Agonie des Eros

In the Group

Im Schwarm

The Disappearance of the Other

The Sale of Anderson

"Tired Society"

Müdigkeitsgesellschaft

What is Entertainment?

Uninterrupted work

Violent Topology

Topography of Gewalt

Transparent Society

Transparenzgesellschaft

The Redemption of Beauty

How to Retrieve the Schönen

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【Editor's recommendation】

(1) Han Bingzhe is known as “a rising star in the German philosophical community.” In addition to academic philosophical research, he returns to the humanistic and critical traditions of philosophy, creating a new realm of philosophical writing and examining the real society and human mind in the digital media era.

(2) Han Bingzhe has both the romantic temperament of Koreans and the rational critical spirit of the German philosophical tradition. Han Bingzhe has a deep insight into contemporary society and sharp judgments, but his inner spiritual pursuit is a quiet, contemplative, and aesthetically meaningful life.

(3) The writing style is like a philosophical essay, which is good at thinking and better at expressing. Han Bingzhe's works are concise, brisk, clear and readable. The carefulness, meticulousness and sharpness of the Chinese translators also add a lot of color to the Chinese version.

(4) French philosopher Alain Badiou wrote the preface to his book The Death of Eros. Han Bingzhe has had a great influence in Europe and the United States, and his works have been translated into nearly 20 languages. Many scholars, including Badiou, have responded to and praised Han Bingzhe.

(5) He quickly found like-minded people in the domestic academic community. Many big names from the fields of philosophy, art, literature, communication, and IT responded positively and highly praised Han Bingzhe and his works.

(6) There are 9 books in the Han Bingzhe series, including the author's major and representative works, reflecting the author's comprehensive attention and thinking on social conditions and individual minds in the digital media era. All will be published in July 2019.

(7) A tragic inquiry and in-depth analysis of the death of love in the digital media age!

With the rapid development of contemporary digital media technology, people's communication and emotional patterns have undergone tremendous changes. People's understanding and desire for Eros are no longer as simple and clear as in ancient Greece. In an increasingly narcissistic and homogenized population, people seek Eros, but suffer from loneliness and lose their spiritual imagination and creativity. The author analyzes and reveals the root and essence of this dilemma, calling on people to have the courage to deny themselves, affirm others, rebuild imagination, and reshape Eros.

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【Famous Comments】

Reading Han Bingzhe's work is an enjoyable experience full of talent and wisdom.

—Alain Badiou, French philosopher

Han Bingzhe belongs to this group of philosophers. Before them, no one sought to change the world, or even fully realized the necessity of such change.

——Inside Higher Ed

Han Bingzhe reveals that in the era of big data, critical theory will and must regroup.

—Will Davies

The complex phenomena formed in the era of big data require new philosophical thinking and framework. Han Bingzhe's several books can be regarded as the most sensitive and sharpest detectors of the times and are a guide to philosophical criticism in the era of big data.

——Si Yu, freelance writer

The several small books by German philosopher Han Bingzhe make a big deal out of small matters and touch upon many aspects of modern people's lives. They are the result of the collision of Eastern and Western humanistic spirits and have entered the hearts of readers.

——He Daokuan, translator, professor of English and communication at Shenzhen University

In Mr. Mu Xin’s poems, “life was slow in the past” and “a lifetime was only enough to love one person”. In our era, life is much faster and one can love many people in a lifetime. However, in reality, “love” has disappeared. “Love” is so readily available, yet hard to reach, so rare that it is hard to find its trace. The so-called “easy to reach” is because love has long become a personal consumer product, and the so-called “hard to reach” is because few people are willing to sacrifice themselves for love and discover the existence of others.

——Zhang Zhiwei, Professor of the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China

Han Bingzhe, a thoughtful scholar trained in German philosophy and immersed in Korean culture, has activated our long-numbed love ability. Individualism once deconstructed the collective power discourse, but it also brought about a modern emotional crisis. The self and the other exist through mutual concessions. Let's see how the author criticizes and reconstructs the relationship between people. Will the wisdom embedded in philosophy and the vividness of facing reality bring about a new brainstorming?

——Lin Guanghua, Associate Professor, School of Chinese Studies, Renmin University of China

Love leads the soul to ascend. "The Death of Love" is a deafening roar! Han Bingzhe's philosophical thinking is full of spirituality and sharp. In a consumer society, who is consuming what? Love is shackled and disguised as sexual desire; consumption stimulation is paid for by thoughts. The original work and translation of "The Death of Love" are both excellent and worth reading carefully.

——Jia Kefang, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Northwest Normal University

Han Bingzhe is a psychoanalyst in the Internet age. Under his precise and calm diagnosis, the technological advances of smartphones, social media, big data, and the Internet of Things all show the comprehensive domination of human life by the neoliberal order. Capitalism, a form of freedom, has long become a political-economic-cultural-technological union. It no longer maintains its ideological dominance by physical coercion and ideological control, but penetrates every corner of our spirit. The senses, emotions, and desires have become the objects of exploitation of the neoliberal production-consumption mechanism, allowing us to give up our freedom without feeling the loss of freedom. This is the meaning of spiritual politics that Han Bingzhe said. In such a ruling order, we actively control ourselves according to the competitive standards of the meritocracy, and therefore fall into the vortex of depression. We project our love desires onto various sensory consumptions, and therefore suffer from the powerlessness of love. We are immersed in the noise of group discourse on social media, but cannot form any unified collective rectification action. Han Bingzhe uses short and sharp words to collide with Foucault, Adorno, Levinas, and Agamben, revealing the serious crisis of this era.

——Yang Xiaogang, Associate Research Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Sun Yat-sen University

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