Book | Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East

Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East

By Byung-Chul Han

Translated by Daniel Steuer

About the Book

Western thinking has long been dominated by essence, by a preoccupation with that which dwells in itself and delimits itself from the other. By contrast, Far Eastern thought is centred not on essence but on absence. The difference between essence and absence is the difference between being and path, between dwelling and wandering. Drawing on this fundamental distinction, Byung-Chul Han explores the differences between Western and Far Eastern philosophy, aesthetics, architecture and art, shedding fresh light on a culture of absence that may at first sight appear strange and unfamiliar to those in the West whose ways of thinking have been shaped for centuries by the preoccupation with essence.

From the Reviews

“Breathtakingly bold and inspiringly insightful.”

Bret W. Davis, author of Zen Pathways

Publication Details

Available Now | Paperback | ISBN 9781509546206 | AU$26.95 / NZ$30.99|

— 20% off: AU$21.56 / NZ$24.79

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