Is modern society (whatever that is) suffering from "metaphysical boredom"?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Is modern society (whatever that is) suffering from "metaphysical boredom"?

[Person Man]

No. We have more diversity in metaphysical thought than we have ever had...and theology is an active field with many new ideas coming out. So, if we are "bored", I don't know what would make us "unbored".

[Earth]

If you mean in the sense that modern society has no metaphysical "outlook", then yes, because "metaphysical boredom" is too vague.

Overall, no metaphysical questions are attempted to be answered, people couldn't care less, and there's really nothing approaching a serious outlook currently within culture, aside from narrative. But narrative does a pitiful job.

[anvi]

Yes, I pretty much agree with Earth (didn't Nietzsche say something like that?).  Anyway, yes, I think there is metaphysical boredom out there, and maybe even a positive antipathy to reality.  I suppose that's why I find the metaphysical outliook of classical Chinese philosophical systems relatively appealing.  These systems are strongly grounded in naturalism, and as based on a relational ontology, Chisese thinking serves as a far better foundation for social relationships and interaction than Western thought tends to.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

If you mean in the sense that modern society has no metaphysical "outlook", then yes, because "metaphysical boredom" is too vague.

Overall, no metaphysical questions are attempted to be answered, people couldn't care less

So what to think about the fact that evangelicals grew so fast during last years? For example the number of megachurches has doubled between 2000 and 2005 passing from about 600 to about 1,200 in US, just for US numbers.

OK, that kind of religion might seem a bit like a fast-food religion (pardon if the metaphor is not so good). But, outside of the psychological reasons that pushes people to join that churches, we can't do like if it didn't answer to metaphysical needs.

Do populations care about metaphysical aspect of life? Until these last years I think less and less, but I think we're at a turn, and I think it will be more and more in the future. Even if I think that in the beginning it could be more by totally irrational ways, awfully unbalanced, but I think that some good things can be born too...

[jokerman]

The intellectual establishment has so thoroughly settled on a metaphysical nihilism that all popular theology completely overshadows all other modern metaphysical thought.  Most people these days conceive of metaphysics in terms of belief vs. disbelief in a (usually) singular diety.  Empirical science is influential, but human nature craves metaphysical meaning; the lazier intellectuals become in advancing metaphysics the more opposition we're going to see in human advancement in general from radical theology.

[Earth]

If you mean in the sense that modern society has no metaphysical "outlook", then yes, because "metaphysical boredom" is too vague.

Overall, no metaphysical questions are attempted to be answered, people couldn't care less

So what to think about the fact that evangelicals grew so fast during last years? For example the number of megachurches has doubled between 2000 and 2005 passing from about 600 to about 1,200 in US, just for US numbers.

I really mean in a secular, analytical sense than a theological one. Religious institutions really haven't offered up new dogma, just furtherance of already established thought. I don't know of too many academic theologians aside from someone like the Protestant Karl Barth that have developed a clear, and new strain of thought, but I'm sadly lacking in that area, anyway.

Secularly, I mean, even popular culture. These sorts of topics don't get much traffic, just fodder for fiction, or film.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

The intellectual establishment has so thoroughly settled on a metaphysical nihilism that all popular theology completely overshadows all other modern metaphysical thought.  Most people these days conceive of metaphysics in terms of belief vs. disbelief in a (usually) singular diety.  Empirical science is influential, but human nature craves metaphysical meaning; the lazier intellectuals become in advancing metaphysics the more opposite were going to see in human advancement in general from radical theology.

"Nihilism" isn't quite the word so much as an anti-metaphysics which borders on nihilism occasionally.

I agree with the rest of it though.