 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Boredom is essentially a thwarted desire for events, not necessarily pleasant ones, but just occurrences such as will enable the victim of ennui to know one day from another.
Source: Bertrand Russell: The Conquest of Happiness, 1930, chap.4:Boredom and excitement
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/HA14-010.HTM
* a brief commnet:
In the past, when entertainment (distractions) were scarce, official propaganda and the mass media made many people rejoice at the 'start of war' (entry into a state of war). In modern times, with a variety of amusements and distractions available, the general public enthusiasm for war is less common, at least in developed democracies. However, the technique of overstating the threat of a hypothetical enemy country in order to maintain power is still widely used today.
The quotation is from Russell's Theory of Happiness, which immediately follows.
"Wars, pogroms, and persecutions have all been part of the flight from boredom; even quarrels with neighbours have been found better than nothing. Boredom is therefore a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it."