{"product_id":"the-power-of-distraction-diversion-and-reverie-from-montaigne-to-proust-paperback","title":"The Power of Distraction: Diversion and Reverie from Montaigne to Proust - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAlessandra Aloisi\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Pascal to contemporary anxieties about attention, we have constantly been urged to avoid distraction if we want to live and work better. But Alessandra Aloisi argues that we are missing the point.Drawing on a broad range ofEuropean philosophy and literature, this book considers distraction not as an expression of human imperfection, but as a creative, subversive, and aesthetic capability. \u003cbr\u003eIn contrast to the traditional accounts, from Saint Augustine to Robert Burton\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich either associated distraction with sin or considered it as a symptom of melancholy, Aloisi argues that it is often precisely when we stop thinking about something that inspiration finds us. Why else are artists described as having their heads in the clouds? This book demonstrates the serendipity of distraction through close readings of cultural and visual sources ranging from the mathematician Poincar? to the Netflix show, \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith inspiration from La Bruy?re, Rousseau, Leopardi, Stendhal, Baudelaire, and others, Aloisi further examines the political value of distraction. After all, in an age of ubiquitous technology and 24\/7 availability fighting for our attention, distraction provides what Bergson called a 'slight revolt' from the codes and behaviors that society dictates.\u003cbr\u003eCombining philosophy, literature, art, and politics, \u003ci\u003eThe Power of Distraction\u003c\/i\u003eencourages us to think differently about our attention and considers just how productive daydreams can be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlessandra Aloisi\u003c\/b\u003e is Lecturer in French Literature and Thought at the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages of the University of Oxford, UK. She is co-editor, with M. Piazza and M. Sinclair, of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaine de Biran's 'Of Immediate Apperception'\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e(Bloomsbury, 2020).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.43 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 24, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52725299282227,"sku":"9781350342989","price":78.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/2Irme_7_3f9781350342989.webp?v=1763708291","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/the-power-of-distraction-diversion-and-reverie-from-montaigne-to-proust-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}