Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Is boredom bad?
Taylor seems to directly relate boredom with sloth. Since it may seem that sloth can be the result of boredom, it is fair of Taylor to make the connection. In fact, I agree there is a certain viciousness to boredom that Taylor points out and should be noted. But she goes about the concept of “boredom” in all the wrong way. She breaks down boredom as coming from external factors which causes internal boredom. She says that “internal” boredom can be avoided because it is simply caused by an external substance. She sees this as merely and emotional state that can be avoided. An example she gives is a boring job. A person can have a boring job (an external factor), but make that job fun and hence not have a boring mental state (internal state of mind). Where the sin of sloth comes in is when Taylor begins to talk about the “mood” of boredom. She says boredom as a mood is deadly because it doesn’t relate of a physical “external” object and hence has to be connected to the state of being of the person. If someone is bored with a book, he or she could put down the book, but a slothful person is bored just for the sake of being bored. And I disagree with this on a personal level. I feel there is in fact some good that can come out of being bored just for boredom’s sake. If I finish all my work and have no desire to watch television, work out, or do anything at all then I feel there is a lot to learn about myself from that state of mind. I can sit down and really reflect on almost anything with a clear head. By not worrying, desiring and/or stressing out about anything in my life or that could be in my life my thought processes are free. If I had something to do, then my thoughts are not “pure,” but instead are tainted by whatever is on my mind. It is only when my mentality is completely clear (or as Taylor so harshly puts it “bored”) that I can really allow my thoughts to freely wander.
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I both agree and disagree with your post. On the one hand, I agree that there is a sense in which not having activities to do at a given time may leave one able to contemplate things that one may not be able to if there are activities distracting the mind. However, I still find that Taylor is able to argue that boredom is a negative things that could lead to or be correlated with sloth. The person who is slothful does not allow their mind to wander to productive intellectual thoughts in times of inactivity. The type of mind wandering you argue is a benefit of boredom, I would argue is not boredom at all. I doubt that Taylor would find moments of relaxation and reflection about life to be boredom. Boredom is rather a state of inactivity in which one is fighting against time and pained for something to do. One may get antsy or fill their time with mindless activity in order to kill time because there is nothing worthwhile to do or think about. The boredom you mention seems to be full of enriching contemplation that makes good use of inactive time. That contemplation is not a sign of sloth or boredom, rather it is a productive intellectual pursuit. The boredom connected with sloth is not fulfilling, it is not intellectual, it is not contemplative. Rather, it is shallow and lagging. The mood of boredom does not allow for the mind wandering you speak of. Thus, I find Taylor can easily sidestep your criticism and maintain that boredom is related to sloth and clearly a viscious state.
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