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This book shows how self-improvement culture became so toxic-and why we need both a new concept of the self and a mission of social change in order to escape it. Mark Coeckelbergh delves into the history of the ideas that shaped this culture, critically analyzes the role of technology, and explores surprising paths out of the self-improvement trap.
List of contents
1. The Phenomenon: The Self-Improvement Imperative
2. The History: Ancient Philosophers, Priests, and Humanists in Search of Self-Knowledge and Perfection
3. The Society: Modern Self-Obsession from Rousseau to Hipster Existentialism
4. The Political Economy: Self-Taming and Exploitation Under Wellness Capitalism
5. The Technology: Categorized, Measured, Quantified, and Enhanced, or Why AI Knows Us Better Than Ourselves
6. The Solution (Part I): Relational Self and Social Change
7. The Solution (Part II): Technologies That Tell Different Stories About Us
Notes
Index
About the author
Mark Coeckelbergh is professor of philosophy of media and technology at the University of Vienna. His many books include AI Ethics (2020) and Introduction to Philosophy of Technology (2019).
Summary
This book shows how self-improvement culture became so toxic—and why we need both a new concept of the self and a mission of social change in order to escape it. Mark Coeckelbergh delves into the history of the ideas that shaped this culture, critically analyzes the role of technology, and explores surprising paths out of the self-improvement trap.
