The Art of Manliness

A Cure for Existential Boredom

Oct 4, 2023

49:09

Snipd AI

Kevin Hood Gary, a philosophy of education specialist, shares a remedy for existential boredom. He distinguishes between situational and existential boredom and emphasizes the importance of incorporating leisure into our lives. They explore solitude, study, epiphanies, and love as ways to find fulfillment and overcome boredom.

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Quick takeaways

To overcome existential boredom, it is important to introduce leisure into our lives, embracing solitude, study, epiphanies, and love.

Engaging in leisurely activities requires being an apprentice, trusting the process, and fully immersing in the experience.

Deep dives

Appreciating the Difference Between Situational and Existential Boredom

Situational boredom refers to being stuck in a particular situation that one wants to get out of, while existential boredom arises from a lack of purpose and meaning in life. To overcome existential boredom, it is important to introduce an element of leisure into our lives, as the ancients understood it. This involves embracing solitude, study, epiphanies, and love, which can bring a sense of fulfillment and a deeper understanding of oneself.

Understanding Situational Boredom and Loss of Agency

01:45

Accepting the despair of necessity and the despair of possibility

01:01

The purpose of leisure and the contemplative life

01:21

The Meaningful Repetitions in Life and Love

01:20

Introduction

3min

Understanding Situational Boredom

8min

The Concept of Authenticity and Existential Boredom

12min

Exploring Modern Amusements and Leisure

4min

The Relationship Between Pursuing Amusement and Existential Boredom

17min

Trusting the Process and Remembering Epiphanies

2min

Overcoming Boredom through Remembering and Love

3min

Finding Meaning in Repetition

3min

It’s one thing to be bored by having to wait in line or sit through a dry lecture. It’s another thing to be bored with life itself.

What can you do about this kind of existential boredom?

My guest will share a remedy with us today on the show. His name is Kevin Hood Gary, and he’s a professor of education, specializing in the philosophy of education. We begin our conversation with the difference between situational and existential boredom, and how the latter arises when we toggle solely between work and amusement. Kevin argues that we need to add an element of leisure, as the ancients understood it, into our lives, and we talk about what that looks like, and how it requires embracing solitude, study, epiphanies, and love.