Josefa Ros Velasco

The aim of this entry is to provide the reader with a philosophical map of the progression of the concept and experience of boredom throughout the Western tradition—from antiquity to current work in Anglo-American philosophy. By focusing primarily on key philosophical works on boredom, but also often discussing important literary and scientific texts, the entry exposes the reader to the rich history of boredom and illustrates how the different manifestations of boredom—idleness, horror loci, acedia, sloth, mal du siècle, melancholy, ennui, monotony, and emptiness—are grounded in the historical context in which they arise.

From the second half of the twentieth century to the end, the blossoming interest of the Mental health professionals on the phenomenon of boredom increased to unimagined levels. Particularly, the psychoanalysts riddled the journals’ pages with titles such as those by well-known psychoanalyst Martin Wangh “Boredom in psychoanalytic perspective”, and “Some psychoanalytic observation on boredom”. However, many psychoanalysts were heirs of the father of Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. This was also the case of the French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. The present chapter aims to develop the notion of boredom and its relationship with psychoanalysis by taking into account many of its roots in the past century. Particularly, we consider boredom is a symptom of other conditions. Therefore, to work on this concept from a psychoanalytical perspective, we will mainly follow parts of Lacan and Freud’s works, who tackled the complex question, and some clinical vignettes.

Resumen En este artículo se examina el Darwinismo Neural en su explicación de la evolución de la conciencia humana, contrastando su metodología con la utilizada por Richard Lewontin, Richard Levins y Steven Rose, quienes han hecho importantes aportaciones en el estudio de los sistemas vivos desde un punto de vista dialéctico. Concluimos que la explicación interaccionista de la evolución de la conciencia planteada en el DN, supera muchas de las deficiencias del determinismo biológico; sin embargo, al compartir algunos lineamientos con el cartesianismo, mantiene un carácter a-histórico insuficiente para la explicación de la conciencia humana. Finalmente, proponemos la adopción de una teoría explicativa de la conciencia humana que considere las relaciones existentes en ella, no sólo como interacciones sino también como interpenetraciones ontogénicas y filogenéticas.This article examines Neural Darwinism proposed as an explanation of evolution of human consciousness. His methodology is contrasted with that used by Richard Lewontin, Richard Levins, and Steven Rose, who made important contributions to the study of living systems from a dialectical point of view. We conclude that the interactionist explanation of the evolution of conscience put forward in ND overcomes many of the deficiencies proper to biological determinism. However, as ND also shares many of the foundations of the Cartesian approach, it maintains a non-historical character, insufficient for the account of human consciousness. We suggest the adoption of an alternative theory, able to fully explain human conscience which must consider the whole of existing relations in it, and, instead of merely considering them as interactions, they have to be observed as dialectical interpenetrations.

el filósofo alemán Hans Blumenberg [1920-1996] se interesó por las cuestiones feministas durante las últimas dos décadas de su vida como muestran su dedicación y esfuerzo en la compilación de recortes seleccionados en los medios de comunicación relacionados con la temática de la mujer y su elaboración de múltiples ensayos cortos inspirados en estos últimos y en un sinfín de curiosas anécdotas. Hans Blumenberg y el feminismo pretende poner al lector en conocimiento sobre la existencia de una línea de investigación del pensamiento blumenberguiano totalmente inexplorada hasta el momento. la misma únicamente puede ser revelada a través del estudio del ‘Nachlaβ’ del filósofo que se encuentra en el Deutsches literaturarchiv de Marbach y que personalmente he tenido oportunidad de indagar gracias a la concesión de una beca de investigación del DAAD.

The Faces of Depression in Literature brings together some of the best-known specialists and scholars on the topic of depression in literature worldwide to offer a multidisciplinary approach concerning the philosophical, theological, and literary narratives of depression over time and their approximations to the current, clinical understanding of Major Depressive Disorder. The authors clarify the background of depression by paying attention to its representation through these narratives and revalue them as a means of acquiring knowledge in an interdisciplinary way. This pioneering initiative fills the knowledge gap that still exists concerning the nature of depression from a multidisciplinary perspective that takes into account some cross-cutting narratives. The authors give voice to the forgotten manifestations of depression found in literature, philosophy, theology, and even early medical works. The Faces of Depression in Literature is for graduates and researchers on depression from a cultural and social point of view, including philosophers, historians, cultural theorists, literature and art experts and enthusiasts, as well as artists and writers themselves, specialists in mental health and cognitive psychology, and anyone interested in a better understanding of the human condition.

Die voranschreitenden Forschungen zum Nachlass Hans Blumenbergs zeichnen ein immer scharferes Bild eines Denkers, der sowohl umfangreiche Arbeiten zur Geistes- und Technikgeschichte vorlegte als auch das offentliche Denken beeinflusst hat - unter anderem durch Prasenz im Radio und regelmassige Beitrage zum Feuilleton von FAZ und NZZ. Der Sammelband wird durch ein bisher unveroffentlichtes Forschungsmanuskript Hans Blumenbergs aus dem Themenbereich der Technikphilosophie abgerundet, das fur den Band transkribiert und kommentiert wurde. Mit Beitragen von Hans Blumenberg (aus dem Nachlass), Alberto Fragio, Andrew Hines, Sandra Markewitz, Marco Mauerer, Angus Nicholls, Martina Philippi, Josefa Ros Velasco, Nicola Zambon und Rudiger Zill.

This book offers a unique perspective on the topic of boredom, with chapters written by diverse representatives of various mental health disciplines and philosophical approaches. On one hand, studying boredom involves the mental processes of attention, memory, perception, creativity, or language use; on the other, boredom can be understood by taking into account many pathological conditions such as depression, stress, and anxiety. This book seeks to fill the knowledge gap in research by discussing boredom through an interdisciplinary dialogue, giving a comprehensive overview of the past and current literature within boredom studies, while discussing the neural bases and causes of boredom and its potential consequences and implications for individual and social well-being. Chapters explore the many facets of boredom, including: Understanding the cognitive-affective mechanisms underlying experiences of boredom Philosophical perspectives on boredom, self-consciousness, and narrative How boredom shapes both basic and complex human thoughts, feelings, and behavior Analyzing boredom within Freudian and Lacanian frameworks Boredom Is in Your Mind: A Shared Psychological-Philosophical Approach is a pioneering work that brings together threads of cross-disciplinary boredom research into one comprehensive resource. It is relevant for graduate students and researchers in myriad intersecting disciplines, among them cognitive psychology, cognitive neurosciences, and clinical psychology, as well as philosophy, logic, religion, and other areas of the humanities and social sciences.

Los conceptos metaforología y antropología aparecen juntos como título del siguiente artículo para anunciar al lector que se va a examinar en el mismo las relaciones existentes entre aquellos, las líneas que conducen desde la metaforología blumenberguiana hasta una tesis antropológica que, en función de la supervivencia humana, legitima y estima la labor del proyecto metaforológico. Partiendo del debate subyacente respecto a la eternidad o la contingencia de las abstractas preguntas que el ser humano se hace a sí mismo, vamos a argumentar cómo puede relacionarse la necesidad de la respuesta metafórica a las mismas con la función antropogenética de la autoconservación humana. En este punto, traeremos a colación la crítica blumenberguiana a la pulsión de muerte freudiana, que se desprende en última instancia de su antropología filosófica.

This contribution consists of a half-transcription/half-summary of the ideas presented in the Roundtable on boredom hold last April 21, 2018 and organized by The Helix Center at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. The aim of this encounter was to pull together some specialists on boredom, among whom I was fortunately included, along with John Eastwood, Jacqueline Gottlieb, Gerald Hurowitz, Mark Polizzotti, and Edward Nersessian, Director of The Helix Center. Its motto was no other than to discuss the state of affairs of the research on boredom. This meeting and its subsequent summary consist of an example of a brainstorming on the topic of boredom to determine future research lines and methodologies.