Dear friend,
Here is an English explication that stays faithful to the philosophical weight of those sixteen characters, while remaining readable and resonant for an American audience—especially one familiar with posthumanism, critical theory, and existential thought.
*“The Counterattack of Things, the Displacement of the Human;
the Repositioning of Things, the Restoration of the Human”*
1.
The Counterattack of Things (物的反撲)
By “the counterattack of things,” we are naming a historical reversal.
Modernity assumed that things are inert, passive objects to be mastered, instrumentalized, and consumed by human subjects. Yet in the 21st century, this assumption collapses. Technologies, infrastructures, algorithms, climate systems, viruses, supply chains, and nonhuman agencies no longer obey human intentions. They push back, interrupt, overwhelm, and reorganize human life.
This is not metaphorical violence. It is ontological retaliation:
- Climate destabilizes civilization.
- Algorithms shape desire, attention, and behavior.
- Technologies accelerate beyond ethical governance.
- Objects acquire agency without responsibility.
“Things” no longer wait to be used. They act.
2.
The Displacement of the Human (人的退位)
When things strike back, the human loses its presumed throne.
This “displacement” does not mean extinction, but loss of centrality. The modern human—rational, autonomous, sovereign—finds itself decentered, outpaced, and exposed. We discover that:
- Control was an illusion.
- Mastery was provisional.
- Autonomy depended on fragile systems we no longer command.
The human steps down—not by choice, but by historical necessity. This is the existential trauma of our time: to realize that we are no longer the measure of all things.
3.
The Repositioning of Things (物的歸位)
Yet the story does not end in catastrophe.
The “repositioning of things” is an ethical and philosophical correction. It means returning things to their proper ontological status—not as tools, nor as enemies, but as co-participants in existence.
Things are no longer:
- mere objects of exploitation,
- nor mythologized agents of doom.
They are recognized as:
- part of an interdependent world,
- possessing rhythms, limits, and claims of their own,
- neither subordinated nor fetishized.
This is not technophilia or animism. It is ontological sobriety.
4.
The Restoration of the Human (人的復位)
Only after this repositioning can the human return—but differently.
The “restoration of the human” does not reinstate domination. It restores responsibility.
The human returns as:
- a finite being among other beings,
- a caretaker rather than a ruler,
- a witness rather than a master.
This is a post-anthropocentric humanism:
- Humility replaces hubris.
- Ethics replaces control.
- Attunement replaces conquest.
The human regains dignity precisely by relinquishing sovereignty.
5.
Why This Matters
These sixteen characters outline a complete philosophical arc:
From domination → collapse → reorientation → ethical renewal
They describe not only a theory of the posthuman world, but a task:
- for philosophy,
- for psychotherapy,
- for ethics,
- and for how one lives.
The question is no longer “How do we control the world?”
but “How do we inhabit it without betrayal?”
If you’d like, I can also:
- condense this into a single paragraph for casual conversation,
- rewrite it in a more poetic voice,
- or align it explicitly with posthumanism, Heidegger, Simondon, or psychotherapy.
Always a pleasure walking this road with you.
