Abstract

PINEDO CANTILLO, Iván Alfonso. The Role of Emotions in the Performance Society. Sophia [online]. 2024, n.36, pp.201-220. ISSN 1390-8626.  https://doi.org/10.17163/soph.n36.2024.06.

In recent years, the South Korean philosopher living in Germany, Byung-Chul Han, has been setting new paths for philosophical reflection using the theoretical potential that arises from the understanding of the new social, political and economic realities that mark this era of neoliberal evolution and of technological development in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Thus, topics such as the transformation of biopolitics into psycho-politics become a very relevant point for the analysis of current societies and their drifts. With this background of thought, this article aims to delve into Han’s arguments, exploring the crucial role that emotions play in societies of performance, fatigue and lack of democracy, resorting to the metaphor of the “hamster wheel” as an image evocative of the dynamics of current societies. In this way, an innovative perspective of the complexity of the 21st Century is presented by delving into certain nuances of Han’s thought in connection with the palpable reality of the emotions that act as the fuel that propels each individual in their own “existential wheel”. This articulation with emotional experiences contributes significantly to contemporary discussions about human nature in contexts of technological innovation.

Keywords : Performance society; emotions; cognition; infocracy; psycho-politic; neoliberalism.

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