Byung-Chul Han's 'The Palliative Society' Reimagines Pain as a Gift

Philosopher Byung-Chul Han's 80-page book 'La società senza dolore' (The Palliative Society), published by Einaudi in 2021, argues that modern society has stripped pain of symbolic meaning, reducing it to a medical problem. Han contrasts premodern societies that embraced pain through martyrdom and heroic sacrifice with today's post-industrial, post-heroic era where pain is anesthetized and depoliticized. He claims contemporary artists have isolated pain from aesthetic imagination, treating it as mere medical technique. Drawing on Heidegger and Hölderlin, Han asserts pain is a gift that sharpens self-perception and enables dialectical formation of spirit. The book critiques the 'palliative society' that replaces obedience with commands to 'Be happy' and 'Be free,' using diversity, community, and sharing to suppress rebellion. Han contrasts historical figures like Kafka, Proust, Schubert, and Nietzsche, for whom pain fueled creativity, with a generic contemporary artist who avoids pain. The review, published in Artribune Magazine #61, notes the difficulty of accepting Han's thesis for those who have experienced intensive care or pediatric oncology.