The philosopher Simone Weil, who was much involved with the crafting of theodicies, has an essay on what she calls "affliction".
To that end, I sat down (digitally speaking) with him to ask about his journey and specifically talk about his favorite series of conceptual images, called Human Affliction, "which target issues affecting humanity, with portrayal of how to overcome along with encouraging quotes".
What they want to know is, what do they call their affliction.
A man with an inferiority complex calls his affliction a Minderwertigkeitsfefune.
In the book, Djokovic calls his affliction the Curse, suggesting an unpredictable scourge, but it struck most often when his game was failing.
But sleep specialists, who call the affliction "jet lag disorder," say that while not exactly a disease, it is a condition that can be dangerous — as when someone tries to drive a car right after arriving in a distant time zone.
That's why scientists find its common name a bit too innocuous sounding; they usually call the affliction human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).
In the late nineties, people running corporations and overseeing newsrooms began complaining of an affliction called "diversity fatigue".
He got married, did some painting, published some poetry, and dealt with an inner-ear affliction called Ménière's disease.
Behind the bravado lies deep anxiety about what some in China have called the "third affliction," its negative image in the world.
The short-term hope is that the method being tested in the greenhouse will one day thwart an incurable tropical affliction called Chagas' disease.
