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Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East. B.‐C. Han, 2023. Transl. D. Steuer. Cambridge, Polity Press. vii + 115 pp, $51.77 (hb) $12.17 (pb)

Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East. B.‐C. Han, 2023. Transl. D. Steuer.... A passing mention by Breht O'Shea in the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio led me to Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East written by Byung‐Chul Han. I felt a surge of enthusiasm instantly, as absence is a central category in critical realism, a philosophical movement I have been engaged with over the past decade. It is perhaps no coincidence that both Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism, and Byung‐Chul Han, each of whom interrogates the absence of absence in Western philosophy, maintain biographical ties to both Asian and European countries: Bhaskar, of Indian descent, was raised and educated in the UK, while Han, born in Korea, has spent much of his academic life in Germany. However, while Bhaskar's exploration of absence, much like the critiques of the metaphysics of presence by Heidegger and Derrida, is often inaccessible to a broader readership, Han offers a lucid and compact outline of absence in the Far East, as the book, first published in German in 2007, is a concise 115‐page text. Best known for The Burnout Society, Han is a prolific author who has also written several other books, such as The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism, each offering http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Philosophy Wiley

Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East. B.‐C. Han, 2023. Transl. D. Steuer. Cambridge, Polity Press. vii + 115 pp, $51.77 (hb) $12.17 (pb)

Vavvos, Andreas
Journal of Applied Philosophy , Volume Early View – Aug 2, 2025
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2025 Society for Applied Philosophy
ISSN
0264-3758
eISSN
1468-5930
DOI
10.1111/japp.70038
Publisher site
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Abstract

A passing mention by Breht O'Shea in the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio led me to Absence: On the Culture and Philosophy of the Far East written by Byung‐Chul Han. I felt a surge of enthusiasm instantly, as absence is a central category in critical realism, a philosophical movement I have been engaged with over the past decade. It is perhaps no coincidence that both Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism, and Byung‐Chul Han, each of whom interrogates the absence of absence in Western philosophy, maintain biographical ties to both Asian and European countries: Bhaskar, of Indian descent, was raised and educated in the UK, while Han, born in Korea, has spent much of his academic life in Germany. However, while Bhaskar's exploration of absence, much like the critiques of the metaphysics of presence by Heidegger and Derrida, is often inaccessible to a broader readership, Han offers a lucid and compact outline of absence in the Far East, as the book, first published in German in 2007, is a concise 115‐page text. Best known for The Burnout Society, Han is a prolific author who has also written several other books, such as The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism, each offering

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Journal of Applied Philosophy – Wiley

Published: Aug 2, 2025

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