PR 684: Boredom in Philosophical Pessimism: Philipp Mainländer

Article Data

I argue that the nineteenth-century German pessimist philosopher Philipp Mainländer is unique in that he views boredom as the driving force behind the creation of the universe and at the same time the driving force behind our inevitable extinction. In order to show this, I explain why he claims that God was at one point bored with His existence and why humanity should strive for the construction of an advanced just and egalitarian society as a way to hasten our demise. Along the way, I contrast Mainländer’s views on boredom with those of Leopardi and, crucially, with the views of his philosophical inspiration, Schopenhauer.