Humanity and Uncontrollability

‘Hartmut Rosa is perhaps the most important new voice among critical theorists, bringing together the Frankfurt School tradition and phenomenology in powerful diagnoses of our current predicament and impasses. Despite brilliant books like Acceleration and Resonance, Rosa is not well-known to English-language social scientists. Now, Simon Susen has produced a book that can change this. Combining introduction and critical reflections, Humanity and Uncontrollability is hugely helpful.’

—Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University, USA.

‘Simon Susen’s detailed and knowledgeable discussion of a key concept in Rosa’s work is very welcome.’

—Maeve Cooke, University College Dublin, Ireland.
‘In this impressive book, Simon Susen succeeds not only in providing a systematic and comprehensive overview of Hartmut Rosa’s wide-ranging social theory but also in equipping the reader with the intellectual tools necessary to discuss both its merits and its weaknesses. Humanity and Uncontrollability is a must-read for anyone interested in one of the most free-spirited and surprising developments in contemporary critical theory.’
—Axel Honneth, Columbia University, USA.

‘For the English-speaking world, Simon Susen’s Humanity and Uncontrollability is an essential guide to the complex, critical, and challenging sociology of Hartmut Rosa.’

—Bryan S. Turner, Australian Catholic University, Australia.

Focusing on the work of Hartmut Rosa, this book provides an in-depth account of the extent to which we, as humans, are obliged to face up to the uncontrollability of the world. Rosa is widely regarded as one of the most original contemporary European social theorists. Along with the concepts of ‘acceleration’, ‘alienation’, and ‘resonance’, the notion of ‘uncontrollability’ [Unverfügbarkeit] ranks among the most important reference points in Rosa’s critical theory, especially in his recent work. It is no accident, then, that – following his extensive inquiries into ‘acceleration’ and ‘alienation’ and the publication of his magnum opus on ‘resonance’ – Rosa has found it necessary to offer a brief, but powerful, account of the place occupied by the concept of ‘uncontrollability’ in his critical theory. The first half of this book comprises a detailed outline of Rosa’s central arguments on ‘uncontrollability’, before moving, in the second half, to a thorough assessment of the most significant limitations of his approach.

This book will appeal to students and scholars of the social sciences and humanities – particularly to those interested in social theory, social philosophy, and the history of ideas.

Simon Susen is Professor of Sociology at City, University of London.