Simmel on Acceleration, Boredom, and Extreme Aesthesia

Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 37 (4):447-462 (2007)
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Abstract

By focusing on the unique velocity and over-stimulation of metropolitan life, Georg Simmel pioneered an interpretation of cultural boredom that has had a significant impact on contemporary social theory by viewing it through the modern experience of time-pressure and social acceleration. This paper explores Simmel's account of boredom by showing how--in the frenzy of modern life--it has become increasingly difficult to qualitatively distinguish which choices and commitments actually matter to us. Furthermore, this emotional indifference invariably pushes us towards more excessive and risky behavior, towards, what I call, "extreme aesthesia." Insofar as novel experiences quickly become routine in the technological age, it appears that only extreme sensations and experiences can break the spell of boredom, allowing us to momentarily feel strongly for something.

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Kevin Aho
Florida Gulf Coast University

Citations of this work

Boredom.W. O'Brien - 2014 - Analysis 74 (2):236-244.
Social Acceleration Theory and the Self.Eric L. Hsu & Anthony Elliott - 2015 - Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 45 (4):397-418.

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References found in this work

The gay science.Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - 1974 - New York,: Vintage Books. Edited by Walter Arnold Kaufmann.
Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning).Martin Heidegger - 1999 - Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Edited by Richard Rojcewicz & Daniela Vallega-Neu.

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