L’animale inquieto. Storia naturale della scontentezza

Why does there always dwell in our soul a well of dissatisfaction? What are its origins and its effects on collective and individual human activities? A scientific and philosophical analysis combined, that spans millennia and cultures, responds to these questions tracing the history of our species from the origin of the world to the future of humanity, passing via the depths of the ego. An investigation guided by the allure of art and literature, by the rigor of science, and the intimacy of the sacred. “Our actual situation – the two authors assert – is that of restless animals: caught within internal dissatisfaction, owed to the biological evolution that has in part detached us from the rest of nature, and the external one, owed to the cultural superstructures that we ourselves have created.” A book about learning how to live with this sentiment and learning to manage a reality of our being that doesn’t render us less deserving of happiness or less eager to look at the future with confidence.