Most people have been bored at school; most people know from personal experience what it is. Usually boredom is considered a problem, an obstacle to learning, and a waste of time. Boredom urges you to take flight and demands pedagogical initiatives. This article, however, argues that boredom can be the occasion for thought. Boredom may be the road to no less than the methaphysical question of being as a whole, to the question of the foundation of existence, and to being (...) conceived of as possibility rather than necessity. In other words, boredom is the fundamental mood of philosophy. Boredom is also a defence against anxiety, a defence against existence loosing meaning. (shrink)