Sem respeito

by Byung-Chul Han, Ana Falcão Bastos (Translator)

No seu novo ensaio, Byung-Chul Han centra-se numa virtude essencial que, durante séculos, constituiu a base da convivência humana. Nestas páginas, o autor explora o declínio acentuado do respeito enquanto virtude social fundamental, e a sua substituição progressiva pelo narcisismo, pela competição agressiva e pela desinibição digital. Han sustenta que uma meritocracia implacável gera uma sociedade profundamente dividida, na qual os indivíduos travam uma luta incessante por estatuto, corroendo os alicerces de uma verdadeira comunidade.

Genres: Nonfiction

86 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2026

About the author

Byung-Chul Han, also spelled Pyŏng-ch'ŏl Han (born 1959 in Seoul), is a German author, cultural theorist, and Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK) in Berlin, Germany.

Byung-Chul Han studied metallurgy in Korea before he moved to Germany in the 1980s to study Philosophy, German Literature and Catholic theology in Freiburg im Breisgau and Munich. He received his doctoral degree at Freiburg with a dissertation on Martin Heidegger in 1994.

In 2000, he joined the Department of Philosophy at the University of Basel, where he completed his Habilitation. In 2010 he became a faculty member at the HfG Karlsruhe, where his areas of interest were philosophy of the 18th, 19th and 20th century, ethics, social philosophy, phenomenology, cultural theory, aesthetics, religion, media theory, and intercultural philosophy. Since 2012 he teaches philosophy and cultural studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK), where he directs the newly established Studium Generale general-studies program.

Han is the author of sixteen books, of which the most recent are treatises on what he terms a "society of tiredness" (Müdigkeitsgesellschaft), a "society of transparency" (Transparenzgesellschaft), and on his neologist concept of shanzai, which seeks to identify modes of deconstruction in contemporary practices of Chinese capitalism.

Han's current work focuses on transparency as a cultural norm created by neoliberal market forces, which he understands as the insatiable drive toward voluntary disclosure bordering on the pornographic. According to Han, the dictates of transparency enforce a totalitarian system of openness at the expense of other social values such as shame, secrecy, and trust.

Until recently, he refused to give radio and television interviews and rarely divulges any biographical or personal details, including his date of birth, in public.

Han has written on topics such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, borderline, burnout, depression, exhaustion, internet, love, pop culture, power, rationality, religion, social media, subjectivity, tiredness, transparency and violence.

Reviews

[Ashkan Darouni]

برشی از کتاب:
◇وحشت یکسانی بر سراسر زندگی امروز سایه افکنده است. افراد به هرجا سفر می‌کنند، اما هیچ چیز را تجربه نمی‌کنند. همه چیز را می‌بینند، ولی بینشی ندارند. اطلاعات و داده‌ها را انباشته می‌کنند، اما دانشی کسب نمی‌کنند. در پی ماجراجویی و سرگرمی می‌روند، اما همیشه یکسان می‌مانند. دوستان و دنبال‌کنندگان اینترنتی فراوانی دارند، اما هرگز با کسی ملاقات نمی‌کنند. رسانه‌های اجتماعی از نظر میزان اجتماعی بودن، صفر مطلق‌اند.
اتصال کامل و ارتباط کامل از طریق ابزارهای دیجیتال مواجهه با دیگران را تسهیل نمی‌کند،‌ بلکه از هر آنکه متفاوت و دیگرگونه است عبور می‌کند و در عوض افرادی را پیدا می‌کند که یا یکسان هستند یا مثل ما فکر می‌کنند؛ بدین‌سان عرصه‌ی تجربه‌ی ما را تنگ‌تر می‌کند. ما را به دور بی‌پایان خودبرتربینی می اندازد که در نهایت به یک 《خودتبلیغی که ایده‌های خودمان را به ما تلقین می‌کند》 می‌انجامد.

◇اعتیاد به عکس‌های سلفی چیزی نیست جز حرکت بیهوده‌ی سوژه‌ی تنها. فرد در مواجهه با پوچیِ درون، بی‌فرجام می‌کوشد تا خود را تولید کند.
سلفی‌ها پوشش پرزرق و برقی هستند که خود پوچ را برای مدتی کوتاه پنهان کنند. اما اگر آنها را برگردانند، روی دیگرشان دیده می‌شود، غرق در جراحت و خون. زخم، آن‌روی سکه‌ی سلفی‌هاست.

[Willemf]

Han weet de zaken - net als in zijn eerdere werk - scherp onder woorden te brengen. Intuïtieve opvattingen weet hij helder te formuleren en daarmee de kern bloot te leggen.
Hij vertrekt in dit boek vanuit Rawls' Een theorie van rechtvaardigheid en benadrukt daarbij dat het bij Rawls gaat om 'men's respect for one another' als uitgangspunt. De goede samenleving is 'keine Leistungs-, sondern eine Respektgesellschaft' (p.9). De strijd om erkenning is niet meer een strijd om erkenning als individu, maar is volgens Han verworden tot een strijd om 'status'. Deze strijd om status heeft invloed op meerdere aspecten van het leven.
Han signaleert een gevaar als meningen vereenzelvigd worden met identiteit. Daarnaast - en dit komt in meerdere van zijn werken terug - heeft hij fundamentele kritiek op het digitale domein van de "sociale" media. Ironisch overigens dat hier te schrijven.

Een aardig citaat om iets van de wijze van schrijven van Han weer te geven is het volgende:
'Werte gehören zur vertikalen Ordnung. Nicht zufällig sprechen wir vom Wertehimmel. [...]Kant iss ein exemplarischer Bewohner der vertikalen Ordnung. Er bringt sie mit folgenden Worten zur Sprache: »Zwei Dinge erfüllen dat Gemüt mit immer neuer und zunehmender Bewunderung und Ehrfurcht, je öfter und anhaltender sich das Nachdenken damit beschäftigt: Der bestirnte Himmel über mir, und das moralische Gesetz in mir.« Weder der bestirnte Himmel noch das moralische Gesetz flößen uns heute Bewunderung und Ehrfurcht ein. [...] Wir bewohnen nicht mehr Himmel und Erde, sonder Google Earth und Cloud.' (pp. 51-52)

[Natacha Rodrigues]

Importantissimo. Reflete o declinio da sociedade atual pela desinibição digital, o fim do espaco publico quando nos fechamos atras do computador e nos esvaziamos com a exposicao a que chamamos autenticidade que substitui a personalidade numa sociedade neoliberalista. O fim do respeito quando perdemos a distancia ao outro,o narcisismo que sobressai e não a alteridade como alguns previram no advento de uma "conexão" digital.

[Ministério dos Livros]

Byung-Chul Han é um daqueles autores que lemos quando queremos saber o resultado de uma ressonância magnética ao mundo depois de apenas o termos observado a olho nu ou no máximo com uma lupa.

Neste seu último livro o autor apresenta-nos a sua análise sobre o declínio do respeito como base para a convivência social, as suas causas e os seus efeitos. Tudo tiros certeiros, na minha modesta opinião. Nem sempre é fácil de entender, por vezes é preciso reler e processar, mas é impressionante como o autor consegue ir ao cerne do problema. Um privilégio ler quem pensa com esta clareza. Obrigatório ler.

[Leeya]

Absolutely loved it. I read it in German and shared what I had learned chapter by chapter with some of my English speaking friends. We had great discussions and I learned so much from this book. So far, I've loved everything I've read by Han.

[Gabriel Magalhães]

Um ensaio com inúmeras referências, sobre um tema pertinente e muito interessante, mas foi uma leitura difícil. Em alguns capítulos fluía bem na interpretação e a minha atenção era garantida, noutros tive de reler e mesmo assim perdia-me no entendimento.
Garantidamente não é o meu estilo literário mas reconheço o mérito e a capacidade do autor.