A Genealogy of the Contemporary Undead Life Through Byung-Chul Han

In this article, I reconstruct Byung-Chul Han's diagnosis of neoliberal capitalism through a genealogy of his notion of the 'undead life' -a life that is "too alive to die, and too dead to live."I argue that this intervention is necessary to profoundly understand his critique of the desecrated existence, atomized community, and debased politics plaguing contemporary society.Thanks to the cult of positivity, the heart of the neoliberal dispositive, living today is devoid of endurance, vigor, and depth.A further immersion into the neoliberal abyss leads to a disquisition of corollary predicaments, such as depression, pornography, and psychopolitical domination.In the concluding section, I raise some issues found in Han's appraisal of neoliberal capitalism and the digital regime.More importantly, I present some images of resistance and hope from his writings and diagram some ways to creatively and critically survive in the present.