The Topology of Violence

Han's book is a philosophical narrative that identifies the fundamental historical turning points in the transformation of violence from ancient societies to the present day. In doing so, the author constructs a concise and profound narrative by critically examining the theses of a series of thinkers who have researched the persistent permanence of violence throughout history: Sigmund Freud, Carl Schmitt, Walter Benjamin, René Girard, Giorgio Agamben, Gilles Deleuze, Michael Hardt, and Antonio Negri. The Topology of Violence is one of those short yet impactful philosophical provocations that cause us to re-evaluate and change our perspectives.

"The subject of late modernity, focused on success and performance, is free to the extent that it is not subjected to the pressure of an external power institution. But in reality, it is as devoid of freedom as a serf. When external pressure is finally overcome, internal pressure kicks in. The subject living focused on success and performance develops depression. Violence continues unabated. Only its center of gravity has shifted inward. Decapitation, the head-hunting force in the sovereign society, deformation in the disciplinary society, and depression in the society of success and performance, are stages in the topological transformation of violence. Violence is progressively internalized, psychologized, and thus rendered invisible. It increasingly sheds the negativity of the Other or the Enemy and turns against the self."