Slow Life. The New Philosophy of Slowness

The article is devoted to the emergence of the Slow Life subculture and of the Slow Living practice in the modern Western society. It considers the origins of the Slow Movement, its disciplinarity, stages of its development, its ideology, objectives and tools. The Slow Movement is a subculture which advocates slowing down the pace of life; it focuses on a contemplative and thoughtful way of living. Followers of the Movement believe that multitasking and undertaking extra commitments are unproductive, but at the same time they deny any austerities. Cultural and philosophical foundations of the Slow Movement are rooted in ancient theories and constructions, referring to the texts of B. Russell and P. Lafargue. The New Ideology is associated with the “society of impression” of G. Schulze and with the “society of multitude” of P. Virno as well. The emergence of the Slow Living practice is possible only in the stable, well-established world, where the peak of development intensification has been overpassed, and the orientation of rationality has shifted from external to internal - to the emotional “life experiencing”. That allows us to speak about “the New Hedonism” and the tendency to the consumer settings renovation. The practical experience of the “Slow City”, “Slow Food”, “Slow TV”, “Slow Education” etc. comes well ahead of the cultural-philosophical understanding of the phenomenon.

slow life, slow living, slow movement, Slow Life, Slow Living, Slow Movement, subculture, slowness, contemplation, idleness, cross-cultural research

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