Avoiding 'Bullshit,' Burnout, and Alienation: A Philosophical Guide to Purposeful Work
Work has an unrivaled influence on our lives. It can shape our moods, self-perception, and overall life satisfaction. Good work can imbue our lives a profound sense of purpose, while negative work experiences can throw us into serious crises of meaning and identity. In this lecture, Professor Blaschko, a leading scholar in the Philosophy of Work, will explore the challenges and potential rewards of pursuing reflective work lives. Drawing on timeless wisdom from Stoic philosophy along with modern insights, he will shed light on three primary barriers to flourishing at work: "bullshit" tasks, burnout, and alienation. Join us to learn how philosophical thinking can help you lead a healthy, fulfilling, and integrated work life throughout your college years and beyond.
Paul Blaschko
Assistant teaching professor of philosophy and director of the Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise, and Society
College of Arts and Letters
About the Lecturer
Dr. Paul Blaschko is an assistant teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame. He teaches God and the
Good Life, a course dedicated to asking the big questions about meaning, morality, and faith. He also serves as
the Director of the Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise, and Society, a program devoted to
exploring how the humanities can help us find meaning in work. With Meghan Sullivan, he has co-authored
The Good Life Method (Penguin Press, 2022), a book about how philosophy can help us live better lives. He is
currently working on a book on the philosophy of work (under contract with Princeton University Press), and is
the co-founder of a Notre Dame based tech start-up that aims to solve problems with dialogue on the internet.
In his spare time, he does a good bit of philosophy on TikTok, and he used to do professional improv comedy in
the Twin Cities.