148. Loneliness
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How can we explain the rise of loneliness in our world? In episode 148 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the difference between loneliness and solitude, how loneliness could help explain the rise of fascism in the US, and the public health implications of loneliness. What is the male loneliness epidemic, and does it truly exist? Does the state have a moral obligation to address the loneliness of its citizens? And do we have a fundamental human right to connection? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts get into the etymology of loneliness and discuss the type of companionship that animals offer humans.
Works Discussed:
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Kimberley Brownlee, Being Sure of Each Other: An Essay on Social Rights and Freedoms
Bouke de Vries and Sarah A. Rezaieh. “Political Philosophy and Loneliness”
Bouke de Vries, “State Responsibilities to Protect us from Loneliness During Lockdown”
Samantha Rose Hill, “Where loneliness can lead”
Zohar Lederman, “Loneliness as Lack of Solidarity: The Case of Palestinians Standing Alone”
Emmanuel Levinas, Otherwise than Being
David M. Peña-Guzmán and Rebekah Spera, Professional Philosophy and Its Myths
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science
Jill Stauffer, Ethical Loneliness: The Injustice of Not Being Heard
Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Loneliness
Highlight: Do states have a moral obligation to step in and combat loneliness?
Loneliness has a profound impact on health
It is a strong predictor of mortality, can increase the risk of dementia, speed up aging, and decrease sleep quality
Bouke de Vries argues that when the state implements policies that directly contributes to loneliness, they have an obligation to intervene to decrease loneliness
On the other hand, Kimberley Brownlee argues that the state always has a moral obligation to address loneliness because social connection is a human right
Some states have already stepped in to alleviate loneliness
More on Loneliness:
Thank you for joining us for another Overthink episode! For those interested, watch out for a discount on our Substack dropping on Monday …. 🤫 And leave a comment with your thoughts, whether on the episode or if there’s anything you’d like to see from us :)
Been eagerly awaiting this episode, thanks guys! I was unaware of arendt's writings on this, that was really eye-opening, especially as she is being proven right yet again in the modern day. I'll definitely be sharing this with my high school philosophy students.
I share the annoyances around urban design! Here in Australia we have the same urban design problems that seem to consciously go to so much effort to keep us as isolated and far away from other people as possible.
As a man who can definitely identify as lonely and having no friends, it has been exceptionally frustrating as all efforts to change my own situation are probably fruitless as I'm trying to contend with all the systemic issues you guys were talking about.
It's also interesting on the male loneliness epidemic because men are the worst offenders of creating it! Trying to make genuine connections with other men is basically impossible, they don't seem to genuinely want to change, they just want to wallow in their grief of being lonely.