Violence “Out of Place” or Positivity Is Not for Everyone. Review of the Book by Byung-Chul Han “Topology of Violence. A Critique of Late Modern Positivity Society”

Abstract

In his work “Topology of Violence. Critique of the positivity society of late modernity”, Byung-Chul Han builds his own concept of violence based on the thesis about the significant difference between late modern society and all previous stages of social development. First of all, according to the author, it lies in the transition from negative to positive violence. Negative violence is understood as a binary opposition between foe and enemy, self and foe, self and super-ego. Positive violence is devoid of binary and is therefore directed inside society and the individual, being inherently self-violent. A critical reading of Byung-Chul Han allows us to conclude that the rejection of binaries in the study of violence is counterproductive, which remains relevant.