Heroes Not Zombies

Christopher Richards who writes slowdownnow said that the book that got him thinking about the whole slow idea was “Leisure. The Basis of Culture”, by Josef Pieper. So I got myself a copy – a lovely hardback edition published by Liberty Fund with an introduction by T. S. Eliot. I really enjoyed doing a dissertation at school (several decades ago!) on T.S. Eliot so finding an introduction by him was a special treat. Josef Peiper was a Catholic Philosopher (which is not something that would usually appeal to me!) and his writing can be both elegant and difficult. But this little essay certainly provoked my thinking.

He makes the point that leisure, not work, is the basis of culture, and a fully human life. He also makes the point very, very clearly that leisure is not the same as idleness. It’s not about doing nothing, slobbing around, or just passing time. It’s about being fully engaged with the world in a non-active, non-doing way.

Whilst Max Weber said “one does not work to live; one lives to work”, Pieper instead reminds of Aristotle who said

We work in order to have leisure

(In fact, the direct, literal translation of this quote from Greek to English is “We are unleisurely in order to have leisure”)

In our frantic, Getting Things Done, To-do list obsessed society, this seems an incredible statement. But the Greeks had it right I think. They had two main “arts” – the liberal arts (ars liberales), and servile work (ars serviles). Work doesn’t sound so great when you add the adjective “servile” does it? But that captures so much of our experience in modern society. For many people, work is just something they have to do, but which is so demanding and consuming that when they are not working they are totally unable to experience leisure.

Pieper points out that leisure is……

a mental and spiritual attitude – it is not simply the result of external factors, it is not the inevitable result of spare time, a holiday, a weekend or a vacation.

and, that it is…..

an attitude of non-activity, of inward calm, of silence; it means not being ‘busy’, but letting things happen.

This description is highly reminiscent of meditation and it’s no surprise that Pieper frequently refers to the activity of contemplation as a way of experiencing reality.

I can see why this essay provokes self-questioning about the all-consuming busy-ness of current lifestyles. It reinforces for me the importance of one of the key groups of virtues is around “Calm” – for me, I’ve identified the three virtues of Slow, Silence and Tranquillity under this umbrella. This is not an argument in favour of doing nothing in life, it’s an argument which turns our priorities on their heads, stressing the absolute importance of leisure. I agree with Aristotle – we work in order to have leisure (and, I guess, many of us work to enable others, too, to have leisure)

I particularly liked his holistic description of leisure.

The point and the justification of leisure are not that the functionary should function faultlessly and without breakdown, but that the functionary should continue to be a man – and that means that he should not be wholly absorbed in the clear-cut milieu of his strictly limited function; the point is also that he should continue to be capable of seeing life as a whole and the world as a whole; that he should fulfil himself, and come to a full possession of his faculties, face to face with being as a whole.

OK, not the easiest sentence to read, but you get the point, don’t you? This is what life is about. This is what being a hero is about. To fulfil yourself, to be in full possession of your faculties and to be at one with life and the world. It strikes me that zombies aren’t fulfilled and although they might work or be idle, the one thing they cannot experience is leisure.

Read Full Post »