From Eros and Civilization (Marcuse) to The Agony of Eros(Byung-Chul Han) in the 21st Century

Abstract

The article begins by briefly explaining Freud’s interpretation of the discontent accompanying civilization, and then describes in greater detail Herbert Marcuse’s correction to it, by means of a social-historical analysis of psychoanalytic principles and the political implications of metapsychology. It mainly analyzes Eros and civilization, but also the later works of this philosopher, in which he qualifies the conclusions and alternatives that he presented in his 1955 book. Next the article discovers interesting similarities with Byung Chul Han's analysis of the “performance society” of our 21st century, which, despite having changed its masks, preserves and intensifies much of the cultural “malaises” denounced by Marcuse, particularly, the agony of Eros and, with it, that of philosophy, but at the cost of what? This work concludes by inviting the reader to think about the dangers arising from this situation.