Byung-Chul Han quotes
1959 – · South Korea / Germany, 20th–21st century · philosopher, essayist and cultural theorist
About Byung-Chul Han
Born in Seoul in 1959, he first studied metallurgy before moving to West Germany to study German literature, Catholic theology and philosophy. He earned a PhD in philosophy (Freiburg, 1994) and taught in Basel, Karlsruhe and at the Berlin University of the Arts. His essays examine neoliberalism, transparency, burnout and the erosion of otherness.
Works: Tod und Alterität; Müdigkeitsgesellschaft (The Burnout Society); Psychopolitik; Vom Verschwinden der Rituale
Quotes
“The complaint of the depressive individual, ‘Nothing is possible,’ can only occur in a society that thinks, ‘Nothing is impossible.’”
Source: The Burnout Society (English translation by Erik Butler), 2015 · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The sentence appears in the published English translation of The Burnout Society and is attributed to Byung‑Chul Han.
- What remains uncertain
- The wording given here follows Erik Butler’s English translation; the original work was written in German (Müdigkeitsgesellschaft).
Han pinpoints a modern paradox: a culture that insists ‘‘Nothing is impossible’’ can turn that promise into a demand, making personal failure feel like moral failure and producing exhaustion and depression.