Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Sushan]

There is a difference between the ennui of a creative person who is depressed,and stupidity.

Indeed there is. But does that mean the stupid are always bored? I do not think so. If the stupid are used to do nothing they will not understand the difference between boredom and enthusiasm (or atleast the neutral state). At the same time the ennui of a creative person should be attended to in order to avoid sad consequences.

[Sushan]

This topic is about the September 2022 Philosophy Book of the Month, The Not So Great American Novel by James E Doucette

My thoughts about people who are bored is that they have it slightly skewed; they are not bored, they are boring.

(Page 23 - Kindle version)

All of us have felt bored even once in our lifetime. But this author gives a different definition for being bored. According to him the problem lies within. Whenever we felt bored we are the ones who have been boring rather than the outside world making us bored. What do you say?

What are the results of a society bored by its own affluence? Is that a sign of progress or the beginning of its destruction?

"So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct."
― Malcolm Muggeridge, Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society

I think the quoted text speaks about a different scenario rather than being bored. Earlier days the societies faced outside threats from the invaders, and also some threats from within like the illnesses. But by the time many of such threats were diminished. Still the humans were accomplished in generating newer threats to threaten their very existence, and this quote have mentioned some of them. But I do not see boredom being mentioned anywhere.