The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering

Synopsis

In his philosophical reflections on the art of lingering, acclaimed cultural theorist byung-chul han argues that the value we attach today to the vita activa is producing a crisis in our sense of time. Our attachment to the vita activa creates an imperative to work which degrades the human being into a labouring animal, an animal laborans. At the same time, the hyperactivity which characterizes our daily routines robs human beings of the capacity to linger and the faculty of contemplation. It therefore becomes impossible to experience time as fulfilling.