| A Philosophy of Boredom Contributor(s): Svendsen, Lars (Author), Irons, John (Translator) |
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ISBN: 1861892179 ISBN-13: 9781861892171 Publisher: Reaktion Books OUR PRICE: $24.70 Product Type: Paperback Published: April 2005 Annotation: It has been described as a "tame longing without any particular object" by Schopenhauer, "a bestial and indefinable affliction" by Dostoevsky, and "time's invasion of your world system" by Joseph Brodsky, but still very few of us today can explain precisely what boredom is. "A Philosophy of Boredom" investigates one of the central preoccupations of our age as it probes the nature of boredom, how it originated, how and why it afflicts us, and why we cannot seem to overcome it by any act of will. Lars Svendsen brings together observations from philosophy, literature, psychology, theology, and popular culture, examining boredom's pre-Romantic manifestations in medieval torpor, philosophical musings on boredom from Pascal to Nietzsche, and modern explorations into alienation and transgression by twentieth-century artists from Beckett to Warhol. A witty and entertaining account of our dullest moments and most maddening days, "A Philosophy of Boredom" will appeal to anyone curious to know what lies beneath the overwhelming inertia of inactivity. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Philosophy | History & Surveys - General - Psychology | Emotions |
| Dewey: 152.4 |
| LCCN: 2005415234 |
| Physical Information: 0.56" H x 4.84" W x 7.84" (0.40 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: It has been described as a tame longing without any particular object by Schopenhauer, a bestial and indefinable affliction by Dostoevsky, and time's invasion of your world system by Joseph Brodsky, but still very few of us today can explain precisely what boredom is. A Philosophy of Boredom investigates one of the central preoccupations of our age as it probes the nature of boredom, how it originated, how and why it afflicts us, and why we cannot seem to overcome it by any act of will. Lars Svendsen brings together observations from philosophy, literature, psychology, theology, and popular culture, examining boredom's pre-Romantic manifestations in medieval torpor, philosophical musings on boredom from Pascal to Nietzsche, and modern explorations into alienation and transgression by twentieth-century artists from Beckett to Warhol. A witty and entertaining account of our dullest moments and most maddening days, A Philosophy of Boredom will appeal to anyone curious to know what lies beneath the overwhelming inertia of inactivity. |
Contributor Bio(s): Svendsen, Lars: - Lars Svendsen is professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is the author of A Philosophy of Fear, Fashion: A Philosophy, and A Philosophy of Boredom, all published by Reaktion Books. |