We are a culture obsessed with covering up pain. From painkillers to doomscrolling, we treat anything uncomfortable as a problem to be solved. Finn Janning, a philosophical counselor and essayist, argues that we should embrace discomfort as a central part of being human. Looking to the great Chilean author Roberto Bolaño and to the ethics of Simone Weil, he contends that only by focusing on real suffering can we live ethically and connect emotionally with each other.
In an interview, the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño (1953 – 2008) stated: “The library is a metaphor for human beings or what’s best about human beings, the same way a concentration camp can be a metaphor for what is worst about them. A library is total generosity.”
The secret behind the poetic and imaginative power of Bolaño’s work lies in a rare synthesis of radical attention and generosity—an affirmative practice. He does not merely reflect life; he expands it, turning existence itself into art.
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