Byung-Chul Han is one of the most important living philosophers, renowned for his critiques of the digital age. In response to the idea that new technological devices expand our freedom, he argues that they lead to burnout and self-absorption and that we must redevelop contemplative practices which slow us down and open us up. He has brought to his thought forms of deep cosmopolitanism developed from both Zen Buddhism and a renewed Romanticism.This book is the first critical introd...

From the co-creator of the landmark series, the story millions of fans have been waiting to get their hands on for more than 25 long years.A vastly layered, wide-ranging history that deepens the mysteries of the iconic town in ways that will thrill disciples of the original series, and will prep fans for the Showtime series like nothing else out there.Four original TWIN PEAKS cast members— Kyle MacLachlan, Russ Tamblyn, Michael Horse, and David Patr...

The crucial sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Secret History of Twin Peaks, this audiobook bridges the two series, and takes you deeper into the mysteries raised by the new series.The return of Twin Peaks is one of the most anticipated events in the history of television. The subject of endless speculation, shrouded in mystery, fans will flock to see Mark Frost and David Lynch’s inimitable vision once again grace the screen. Fe...

For the first time, the complete history of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks—from the landmark, original cult series that changed the course of television to its 25-years-in-the-making sequel—is told through fascinatingly detailed reporting and exclusive interviews with the show's cast and creators.From its start, when studio executives drafted a plan to recoup costs after what they predicted would be the series' inevitable failure, to the 1992 preq...

Untrammelled neoliberalism and the inexorable force of production have produced a 21st century crisis of community: a narcissistic cult of authenticity and mass turning-inward are among the pathologies engendered by it. We are individuals afloat in an atomised society, where the loss of the symbolic structures inherent in ritual behaviour has led to overdependence on the contingent to steer identity.Avoiding saccharine nostalgia for the rituals of the past, Han provides a genealogy...

Exploring how neoliberalism has discovered the productive force of the psycheByung-Chul Han, a star of German philosophy, continues his passionate critique of neoliberalism, trenchantly describing a regime of technological domination that, in contrast to Foucault’s biopower, has discovered the productive force of the psyche. In the course of discussing all the facets of neoliberal psychopolitics fueling our contemporary crisis of freedom, Han elaborates an analytic...

Transparency is the order of the day. It is a term, a slogan, that dominates public discourse about corruption and freedom of information. Considered crucial to democracy, it touches our political and economic lives as well as our private lives. Anyone can obtain information about anything. Everything—and everyone—has become transparent: unveiled or exposed by the apparatuses that exert a kind of collective control over the post-capitalist world.Yet, transparency has a dark side th...

Does life have meaning? Is it possible for life to be meaningful when the world is filled with suffering and when so much depends merely upon chance? Even if there is meaning, is there enough to justify living? These questions are difficult to resolve. There are times in which we face the mundane, the illogically cruel, and the tragic, which leave us to question the value of our lives. However, Iddo Landau argues, our lives often are, or could be made, meaningful—we've just been setting th...

Self-help gurus, life coaches and business consultants love to tell us that we must strive for constant self-improvement to realize our full potential and become truly happy. But it doesn't seem to work - for many of us, life still seems hollow and meaningless. So focused are we on personal development and material possessions that we've overlooked the things that make life truly fulfilling and worthwhile.So how do we figure out what's really worth striving for? In this compelling ...

No doubt the 21st century will continue to surprise us, but the battle for the soul of humanity appears to be quickening. Do we have what it takes to save ourselves from ourselves? The internet has fundamentally changed our experience of shared life, for good and bad. The spiritual and ecological exhaustion of modernity is watched and discussed in a public realm mostly controlled by private interests, where our attention is easily hijacked and vulnerable to manipulation. There is joy and h...

A defining feature of being human is our ability to think. We refer to ourselves, after all, as Homo sapiens. But in a world where experiencing and achieving as much as possible is the number one preoccupation, there is little room for reflection. Technology is also making everything easier, eroding the need for us to think at all.Of course deep, critical thinking can be difficult, sometimes painful, and it takes time. But it is fundamental to our well-being. In this new book, best...

The "happy meat" position does not challenge our large-scale mistreatment of non-human beings, but rather serves to support it. That is among the core claims of this essay, which argues that the rejection of the "happy meat" position is critical if we are to end the extreme horrors that humanity inflicts upon other animals."Magnus Vinding argues powerfully against eating 'happy meat'." — Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, author of Why Vegan?