Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East

by Byung-Chul Han

Book Overview

Western thinking has long been dominated by essence, by a preoccupation with that which dwells in itself and delimits itself from the other. By contrast, Far Eastern thought is centred not on essence but on absence. The fundamental topos of Far Eastern thinking is not being but 'the way' (dao), which lacks the solidity and fixedness of essence. The difference between essence and absence is the difference between being and path, between dwelling...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1509546200
• ISBN13: 9781509546206
• Release Date: May 2023
• Publisher: Polity Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.2"