Faculty Collaboration Explores “Loneliness in Our Time”

If the antidote for loneliness—at least at work—is collaboration and collegiality, then a group of Bentley faculty appear to have cracked the code.  

In June, Bloomsbury Academic published “Loneliness in Our Time,” an interdisciplinary volume of research and essays that is, in part, the result of the 2022-23 Valente Center Humanities Research Seminar that included collaboration among faculty from departments from across the Bentley as well as other universities to study this problem from multiple perspectives.  

The effort was led by Axel Seemann, professor and former chair of Bentley’s Philosophy Department. 

“I’ve always wanted to lead a Valente Center Humanities Research Seminar because it’s such a unique opportunity. I don’t know of another university that has something comparable to it,” says Seemann. The yearlong research seminar gathers faculty from across disciplines and from within and beyond Bentley to study a problem from multiple perspectives.  

Seemann, who describes himself as a philosopher of the mind, says he is most interested in the nature of “consciousness, perception, how people and minds connect, and what happens when these connections go wrong.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic created a terrible, yet perfect, storm of lonely conditions for academics from all disciplines to study. Suddenly, they had access to a worldwide experiment in what happens when normal methods of social connectedness are disrupted.  

Seemann found loneliness a compelling issue to study in a Valente Seminar because “it can be looked at from many angles: It’s a philosophical, psychological, historical and business studies topic,” he says. “We had colleagues at Bentley who were also interested in it from a wide variety of disciplines, and scholars who joined us from UCLA, UMass Lowell, the University of Exeter, the University of Hong Kong and others.” 

After a year’s worth of fruitful discussions that led participants to write new papers, Seemann realized their work should be captured in a book. 

“It’s an academic book that I think is essential reading for anyone who wants to think about loneliness in a comprehensive way; we cover philosophical and psychological theory but also have a chapter that investigates loneliness in the workplace, which will be of interest to practitioners who want advice on how to address this pressing issue.”  

This fall, Seemann will step back from his role as chair of the Philosophy Department and begin a sabbatical year during which he’ll focus on writing a book intended for a broader audience about social connection and its breakdown in the present moment.  
 
Interested in learning more about loneliness? You can read the new book via Open Access here, or listen to Seemann’s podcast, “Loneliness and You,” and hear his interviews with a CIA operative, a cave explorer, a touring musician, a funeral home director and other fascinating guests.  

Bentley Faculty Contributors Featured in “Loneliness in Our Time” 

Axel Seemann, professor and former chair, Department of Philosophy 

• Introduction: "Loneliness in Our Time" (with Joel Krueger, Tom Roberts and Emily Hughes) 
• Chapter 2: "Loneliness and the Epistemology of Meaningful Social Connections" 

Jonathan Ericson, associate professor and chair, Department of Experience Design 

• Chapter 3: "Loneliness and Self-Estrangement: Insights from Depth Psychology and Cognitive Science" 

Samir Dayal, professor, Department of English and Media Studies 

• Chapter 4: "Choosing Loneliness: Anxiety and Self-Alienation" 

Aaron J. Ancell, associate professor, Department of Philosophy 

• Chapter 11: "Social Rights, Loneliness, and Choice" 

Danielle Blanch-Hartigan, Chester B. Slade Professor of Psychology and executive director of the Center for Health and Business, Department of Natural and Applied Sciences 

• Chapter 12: "Loneliness and Vaccine Intentions and Uptake in COVID-19: Results from a 3-Wave Nationally Representative Panel Survey" 

Robert DeLeo, professor, Department of Political Science 

• Chapter 12: "Loneliness and Vaccine Intentions and Uptake in COVID-19: Results from a 3-Wave Nationally Representative Panel Survey”