The Scent of Time

In his philosophical reflections on the art of dwelling, the renowned cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han argues that the value we place on the vita activa today triggers a crisis in our sense of time. Our attachment to the vita activa creates an imperative to work that degrades humans into working animals. At the same time, the hyperactivity that characterizes our daily lives robs people of the ability to dwell and the capacity for contemplation. As a result, it becomes impossible to experience time as fulfilling. Han draws on a range of thinkers, including Heidegger, Nietzsche, and Arendt, and argues that we can only overcome this temporal crisis by revitalizing the vita contemplativa and relearning the art of dwelling. What distinguishes humans from other animals is the ability to reflect and contemplate, and when life regains this ability.