If nothing else the current time crisis is connected with the absolutization of the vita
activa. It leads to a work imperative which reduces people to beasts of burden (animal
laborans). Everyday hyperactivity depletes people's lives of all ability to linger and be
contemplative. This renders a fulfilling experience of time impossible. Revitalization of the
vita contemplativa and relearning of the art of lingering are essential to overcoming the
current time crisis.'Scent of Time' makes explicit the philosophico-temporal foundations of
Han's critique of neoliberalism and of digital culture and is indispensible for an
understanding of his later books 'society of tiredness' and 'society of transparency'.
