Agony Of ErosBOOK REVIEW
A review of Agony Of Eros that explores love, self, negativity. In such a narcissistic, self centered economy, one looks to avoid every sign of negativity and discomfort.
Such an interesting read. "The Agony of Eros", by Byung Chul Han, analyzes the state of love in modern society.
In such a narcissistic, self-centered economy, one looks to avoid every sign of negativity and discomfort. We seek to consume love as if it was any other product targeting self satisfaction. We see love as a project one aims to complete as the entrepreneur of its own life. "One stays the same and seeks only confirmation of oneself in the Other".
However, as Han brilliantly explains, "If one could possess, grasp, and know the other, it would not be other. Possessing, knowing, and grasping are synonyms of power. (...) When otherness is stripped from the Other, one cannot love - one can only consume."
He then elaborates on how social media markets endless possibilities and options to choose from, which end up dehumanizing faces and bodies, erasing flaws and authenticity.
My main takeaway from this is that for love to truly manifest itself we must accept the fact that it comes with negativity. Because the Other is the Other, and their otherness will eventually bring us discomfort. To love someone is to be curious about the differences they bring into our lives, to let go of control and lose ourselves in their universe.
Although one dies in the Other, this death is followed by a return to oneself.