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Full Description
Boredom is a common human experience. It may strike us as straightforward—a mere absence or lack, an emotional emptiness of sorts—yet it is anything but simple. It is complicated: personal and social, biological and cultural, both ever-changing and constant. It can spur action, both productive and harmful. It affects us differently based on our social identity and standing. Boredom is both a mirror of the complexities of human existence and a cause of them.
In The Anatomy of Boredom, Andreas Elpidorou offers a groundbreaking examination of this ubiquitous yet enigmatic dimension of human existence, illuminating its profound influence on our personal and social lives. Through interdisciplinary analysis, careful argumentation, and captivating insights, Elpidorou presents a functional theory of boredom, which understands and individuates boredom in terms of its role in our mental, behavioral, and social existence. This theory provides a compelling synthesis of existing research, connects the present of boredom to its history, and allows us to apply our knowledge of boredom to relatively unexplored domains, such as its relationship to the good life, self-regulation and self-control, poverty and capitalism, advancements in AI, animal emotions, and even aesthetics and art appreciation. Ultimately, the study of boredom is revealed to be more than just an analysis of an intricate and important affective experience; it is also shown to be an insightful investigation into the complexities of human (and even non-human) existence.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Cover
Introduction: Painful Thoughts
Part I The Unity of Boredom
1: The Meaning of "Boredom"
2: The Birth of Boredom
3: Varieties of Boredom
Part II The Workings of Boredom
4: The Character of Boredom
5: Boredom as Cognitive Allostasis
Part III The Significance of Boredom
6: Boredom and the Good Life
7: The Sociology of Boredom
8: The Injustice of Boredom
9: Animal Boredom
Conclusion: The Aesthetics of Boredom
Notes
Bibliography
Index
