Andreas Elpidorou is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Louisville. He specializes in the philosophical study of the mind and has published extensively on the nature of emotions (especially boredom), consciousness, and cognition. He is the co-author of Consciousness and Physicalism: A Defense of a Research Program (2018) and the author of Propelled Toward the Good Life (2020).

• AcknowledgmentsThe Moral Significance of Boredom: An IntroductionAndreas Elpidorou1From Electric Shocks to the Electoral College: How Boredom Steers Moral BehaviorMeltem Yucel and Erin C. Westgate2The Existential Sting of Boredom: Implications for Moral Judgments and BehaviorEric R. Igou and Wijnand A. P. van Tilburg3Boredom and the Lost SelfShane W. Bench, Heather C. Lench, Yidou Wan, Kaitlyn Kaiser, and Kenneth A. Perez4“Rage Spread Thin”: Boredom and AggressionJames Danckert5Losing and Finding Agency: The Crisis of BoredomJohn D. Eastwood and Dana Gorelik 6Boredom Mismanagement and Attributions of Social and Moral CostsMcWelling Todman7Boredom and Poverty: A Theoretical Model Andreas Elpidorou8The Epistemic Benefits of Irrational BoredomLisa Bortolotti and Matilde Aliffi9Boredom as Cognitive AppetiteVida Yao10Boredom, Interest, and Meaning in LifeWendell O'Brien11Parallels to Boredom in Non-human AnimalsRebecca K. Meagher and Jesse Rob

In this multiauthored volume, Elpidorou gathers chapters that approach the intersection of boredom and morality from diverse perspectives, including history, religion, and philosophy; clinical, social, and personality psychology; and even animal studies. Various contributing authors attend to how boredom can affect moral decision-making and to the conditions that are then conducive to either prosocial or antisocial behavior. Examples and case studies clarify that being in a state of boredom is not being in a state of neutrality: rather, it is being in a state that one definitely does not want to be in. Escape from boredom can lead to relatively small (but positive) behaviors—such as, for example, learning how to paint—but sometimes the positive behavior can be on a grander scale. A formerly bored person can end up joining efforts to fight world poverty. On the other hand, some chapters cite examples of escape from boredom that lead to decidedly negative behaviors, such as setting thousands of acres on fire, or even committing murder. The contributors interweave connections involving boredom that might otherwise be overlooked. The text also points to a wealth of references for student readers to explore. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty and professionals. Students in two-year technical programs. General readers.