Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Trade ReviewThis scintillating “anti–self-help guide” is bold and convincing. * Publishers Weekly *
In
Self-Improvement, Mark Coeckelbergh explains why technology cannot cure what ails our soul. Artificial intelligence will not make us better human beings. An oppressive social environment is at the root of the rage for self-improvement. We need to work not on ourselves but on our society. Technology can help us improve it if we join together to make sensible changes.
Self-Improvement is the guide we need to escape from the technologized self. -- Andrew Feenberg, author of
Technosystem: The Social Life of ReasonCoeckelbergh's diagnoses of the extensive historical and contemporary sources of a toxic culture of 'improving ourselves to death,' specifically as relentlessly driven by contemporary AI and surveillance capitalism, ground his prescriptions for alternative understandings of ourselves and of possible good lives as interwoven both with our technologies and the larger environment. The upshot is a book of exceptional insight and urgently needed wisdom. -- Charles Ess, author of
Digital Media EthicsSelf-Improvement connects the dots between innovations in print technology, the development of the literary genre of the 'confession,' and the way these practices are being currently amplified by social media platforms. Coeckelbergh's ability to identify what is truly interesting and to draw out the important connections between these different (and often times seemingly incompatible) materials is in full force here. Engaging, easy to follow, and full of the kinds of insights that make reading a text like this so satisfying. -- David J. Gunkel, author of
Gaming the System: Deconstructing Video Games, Games Studies, and Virtual WorldsTable of Contents1. 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
