Resonance

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The pace of modern life is accelerating, yet this speed does not equate to increased happiness or contentment. Hartmut Rosa argues that the solution lies in “resonance.” Human life quality cannot be measured solely by resources or happiness; it requires an understanding of our relationship with the world. Rosa applies his resonance theory across various human activities, exploring how we connect with our surroundings, from breathing to adopting diverse worldviews. He examines concrete experiences in family, politics, work, sports, religion, and art, where modern individuals seek resonance. However, this pursuit is increasingly challenging due to modernity’s logic of escalation, which distorts our relationship with the world at both individual and collective levels. Rosa links the major crises of modern society—environmental, democratic, and psychological—to our fractured connection with the world. This work builds on his previous theories about acceleration, offering a significant contribution to modernity theory and highlighting how our troubled relationship with the world underpins pressing contemporary issues. This renewal of critical theory is relevant for students and scholars in the social sciences and humanities.