Addiction to Boredom in Arthur Schopenhauer, Martin Heidegger and William Lovell, an Epistolary Novel by Ludwig Tieck
Addiction to Boredom in Arthur Schopenhauer, Martin Heidegger and William Lovell, an Epistolary Novel by Ludwig Tieck

Summary/Abstract: With the work of philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and Martin Heidegger forming the theoretical basis, and Ludwig Tieck’s Romantic novel, William Lovell, as the literary source, this paper addresses the following questions: What is boredom and what functions does it perform for those who experience it? Is time spent in boredom always a waste of time or can it be existentially significant? Can the mood of boredom become habit forming or addictive? The argument presented here suggests that the answer is yes, boredom can become an addiction, for a number of reasons. Boredom is a distraction from deeper sources of suffering. Boredom can function ideologically, providing a rationalization for human behaviors that seem to have no meaning. Boredom is similar to nostalgia, since it often functions as a means to escape from the present. Remaining in states of shallow boredom can prevent slipping into the more existentially significant form of profound boredom. Profound boredom is the type of boredom that can awaken us to our lives and force us to reckon with ourselves. This is a challenge, and to avoid that challenge we can become subconsciously addicted to the shallower form of boredom.

• Details
• Contents