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Leisure the Basis of Culture

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I cannot say enough about this wonderful and important book. It's message is simple: Western culture has taken upon itself a disposition toward life--and an outlook upon the world--of total work; of work-for-work's sake; or, if you prefer, we have internalized the Weberian protestant work ethic to a debilitating degree. In so doing, so Pieper suggests, we threaten to loose our very souls, both culturally and personally. We must make time for contemplation and reflection, and to, more generally, bask in the truth, beauty and goodness that is available to us in every facet of existence.

While Pieper is a Catholic philosopher in the Thomistic tradition, his arguments are solid and broad enough for those who may be non-religious, or of different faiths. Nevertheless, Christians will, I am sure, enjoy Pieper's articulate use of Christian inspired ideas and use of sources.

Those familiar with Heidegger will also appreciate Pieper's line of argumentation and the resemblances it has to the Heideggarian notions of Gelasenheit, Gestel, and Aletheia.

The second half of the book is a fantastic apology for, and description of, philosophy and the contemplative life.

In short, I cannot recommend this book enough for everyone. It's message is so needed now more than ever, as we have as a society become slaves of productivity. When I teach Introduction to Philosophy I will be sure to use this book!

One last note in brief: if anything bad can be said, it would have to be in regard to the multiple typos throughout the text. I do hope that St. Augustine Press makes an effort to rectify this problem, as it seems an injustice to such an important book. --And I certainly do not agree with one of the reviewers who suggested the translation renders the text obtuse; to the contrary I found it remarkably clear and cogent.

ADDENDUM as of 11/2004: Recently the publisher contacted me, stating that the various typos have been corrected. I looked through a recent copy and found this to be the case. St. Augustine Press should be commended for this care and consideration of one of their best books!

The excellent Malsbury translation of Pieper's famous work brings together many of the themes found in other works of the author. For instance, leisure or stillness, is not to be thought of as leisure in the contemporary sense. Leisure is to be thought of in a framework of an teleology which is a contemplation of ends, or last things. Since man is made for union with God, human work is not seperate from this end. Today, the work of man is an end in itself, and philsophical anthropology and culture suffers. Pieper shows how this is a reorientation from the classical and scholastic world view which shared a common vision of anthropology as man seeking those things which are above. This book is a must read for all those who think modern culture is suffering from an identity crisis.

This is the 50th anniversary edition of Josef Pieper's philosophical classic which was originally published in German in 1948. Pieper defines leisure not as we understand it in the 21st century, but within the philosophical-theological context of divine play and its impact on the intellect as it was universally accepted from the pre-Christian Greek philosophers and later developed by Aquinas. The importance of leisure was unchallenged until Kant usurped it in 1796 with a philosophy of reason and work; "...the law of reason is supreme, whereby property is possessed through labor." Kant's philosophy gained acceptance and became well suited to the industrial revolution which soon followed.

Pieper takes the command "Be still (at leisure) and know that I am God" - Psalm 45 and distills it from there. Leisure is non-active; it is receptive and consists of contemplation or celebration. Like grace, intuitive and creative thoughts are communicated while at leisure. I find Pieper's premise true because my most inspiring thoughts come while taking a shower or while on a walk through the woods. Einstein would also agree, because he was riding his bike when the theory of relativity crystalized in his mind.

Also in this 160 pge book are Pieper's 1947 lectures collectively entitled The Philosphical Act. He begins by quoting Thomas Aquinas, "The reason why the philosopher can be compared to the poet is that both are concerned with wonder." It flows from there.

Pieper's philosophy is reflected today in the Slow (Food) Movement. It's also understandable how Pieper made a significant impact on E.F. Schumacher and his Buddhist economics as contained in Small is Beautiful.

Excellent translation by Gerald Malsbary. This book needs to be read several times in order to grasp the real message. Pieper's vision of leisure is synonymous to divine grace. You come away from this reading with a renewed outlook on life.

Pieper begins with a common (and ironically ancient) human insight that people today have lost touch with their inner, spiritual lives, and something must be done before we become soulless drones. His solution is leisure, that contemplative and calm state that produces joy in the greatness of a full life. The highest expression of this leisure is the religious festival. I won't divulge any more of Pieper's philosophy; it is much better understood and appreciated by reading his well-written text. Sometimes Pieper soars and takes the reader with him into the loftiest reaches of man's soul and intellect, other times it seems like nothing more than the intellectual masturbation of a prentious, old-school European academic. Still, it is beautifully and succinctly written, which is very refreshing, and you could easily read it in a week. Especially recommended for the Catholic intellectual.

I read this book for the first time about ten years ago, and have just re-read it. Both readings were delightful and edifying. The first reading was like a slap in the face. It was a shock to have a writer attack the pre-eminence of utility. For nearly a half-century, it was pressed into my mind that usefulness was a virtue-- and not just a garden-variety virtue, but the foundation of all civic virtues. I dare say that practically everyone brought up in the West in the Twentieth Century was similarly molded, by the education establishment, by the penalty-reward system,by the politicians and (for a large part) by religious leaders. If you weren't doing something useful, if you weren't somehow contributing to the general utility of society, you were not a good citizen.
An example (trivial, perhaps)is as follows: There was a time when kids could leave the house on a summer day, run around, hang out, play games, and finally come home for dinner. Not today! Little League, Soccer league, tennis lessons. Hup! Hup! Hup!
Pieper cries out with a message that is, I claim, carrying with it more and more urgency. We have to start looking at each of our activities and asking "Is it good?", and not "Is it useful?" But even before this, we have to learn that those two questions are not identical.
One of the other reviewers objected tp Pieper's world view, asserting that in the modern age, we have more spare time for leisure than in years past. He said: "we work much less than people use (sic) to have to work and this is due to being able to produce more in less time."
This is utterly false. At the height of human civilization, (in the West, anyway), there were less than 140 working days per year. The rest were Sundays and Festival days. There was more "spare time" in the 13th Century than there is in the 21st. But, as Pieper points out, "spare time" does not equate to "leisure". One can use his spare time watching TV, and wind up with zero leisure.
So, the first time through this book, it was like a slap in the face, challenging the shibboleths under which I had labored for so long. The second time through was sweeter. The book wears very well. It will be read in the 22nd Century.

Pieper makes the argument that freedom and philosophy are closely related; bad philosophy can lead to enslavement of oneself or of societies as a whole. The Greeks (whom we take most of our higher level concepts from and who had perfected the ideals of freedom to their greatest level) viewed philosophy as closely linked to wonder, hope, and the marvelous; an open system that never doubted the presence of mystery even in one's ultimate thoughts, as opposed to some modern attempts that have created a "complete" philosophical system like Hegel's or Marx cause. One of the main points of Pieper is that our notion of work and how the word is used today is due to the influence of Marxist socialism upon our psyche and attack on our freedoms. Anything worth doing had to justify itself as work in the socialist/Marxist scheme, which included something that traditionally had been known as the antithesis of work being school or learning. We use words that justify what should more rightly be known as educational "efforts", or "studies", or "learning" as school "work". Everything has to serve a utilitarian aim as work in the modern jargon or become suspect. Pieper explains how this change, and others, in concepts of things has done something on par of putting more links in the chain that enslave us, we are our own keeper in how we think, or worse are enslaved by the system of government. Work more rightly is seen as taking care of the necessities: food, roof... The word for school comes from the Greek word for leisure, leisure is the proper use of extra time to make oneself a greater whom ever you are supposed to be.

This is what Aristotle means when he says, "I work in order that I may have leisure." Which really means I take care of my basic needs in order that I have time to examine being in relation to all things.


Acadia, sloth, laziness, a sitting in front of the tv jell-o"ing" is rightly opposite of leisure. This change in terminology is significant in how people view themselves; Marxist socialism did effect English speakers to their very linguistic core and continues to have an effect today on how we use words to justify things and those same words interact with related concepts. Without the proper usage of leisure as a concept sloth and slothful activities have been given free reign to run rampant only hindered by the term "work" which is a pitiful replacement for leisure which means time to make oneself the more beautiful person you were supposed to be includeing efforts to understand creation and interrelations of all things both inwardly and outwardly. Work is more analagous to laying brick and morter, leisure to the making of pottery on a potter's wheel (although this is simpistic). The book's messages have broad meaning. It contains only a minor insignificant attack on what is known as the "Protestant Work Ethic" only as it might be blind to Marxist inroads on linguistic attacks and its comments on leisure's effect on the contemplative life are interrelated to the good life in a broad sense, not just the contemplative life. The book is mostly about how Marxist jargon has infected Western concepts and language and distanced ourselves more from our true Greek legacy concerning the ideas of freedom and the human condition and its relation to the meaning of words and how we have become more like slaves because of it. His intent is to kill the false vain idol of work for work sake which has obfuscated a right relation to the divine. Pieper explicetly denies that this is an attack on egalitarianism or a longing for rigid class destinctions on par with archic aristocracy. It is merely a desire to revive the right place of words and exclaimation of loss in how great Western concepts have been tossed aside and consequently our humanity.

A summary of the book really doesn't do it justice.

I am no philosopher, but I have always loved Plato and have with Pieper's help learned to appreciate Aristotle again. This little book is the most influential for me besides perhaps Plato. I have been rereading it for 14 years, and wish I had read it more often. Until recently I don't think I understood the second piece, and every time I read it again there are gems of insight, undiscovered before.
Read it with friends, preferably. If you are the skeptic or cynic, Pieper has an antitode. He did at least for me.

One note: I have the original translation by Alexander Dru with introduction by T.S. Eliot. I don't know why another was made. I don't know German, but the English is very clear and flows well.

Josef Pieper's LEISURE: THE BASIS OF CULTURE is a short but poignant commentary on the difference between joy and idleness. This book is not for those who have an aversion to serious reading and thought. Nor is this book recommended for those who are addicted to the Idiot Box (TV). Those who carefully think of "Ultimate Values," serious religious convictions, etc. would benefit from this book.

Piefer distingushes between "practicle learning" and the joy of learning. In an age of "practicle" learning, cheap religion, shallow philsosphy, etc. serious reading (The Great Books)thought, and good writing are slowly being eroded in favor cheap goods and ideas. Practicle learning may enhance one's ability to improve income. One may ask as Piefer does, at what cost. In line with Piefer's views, one may refer to the biblical injunction of "Gaining the whole world and lose one's soul." Some enter the profession to earn huge incomes and often do. They have nice homes, new cars, swimming pools, etc. Yet the pressure to "keep up with the rat race" causes early death. These men are wealthy all right. They are the wealthest men in the cemetary.

Piefer prefers another sort of learning. He wants learning to be a joy. According the Plato & co., joy consisted of insight to Divine Love and Widsom. The Medieval Scholastics argued that God was Man's ultimate joy and end of life. St. Thomas Aquinas is cited in Piefer's book as one who used reason, insight, the Catholic Faith, etc. to enhance his careful study of philosophy and theology. This type of learning was to promote the Faith and to improve one's character rather than to have more economic success. Piefer is not opposed to earning a living. His complaint is the obsession of wealth at the expense of knowledge, character, honesty, character, etc. which he believes can only be enhanced by careful reading and thought.

Piefer's short book could have been written more clearly. However, he raises serious questions that should be carefully considered. For those who take ultimate values seriously, his end notes cited books and pages for further study and thought.

When I was in college as a graduate student I lambasted a professor who seemed to me to spend his days observing the world and writing about different ways of looking at it, but seemed to produce nothing. Some time before I read this book I came to realize the errors of my ways, but I could not quite put my finger on why my views had changed. A few pages into this book my childish understanding of the value he added, even represented, was cast into a much larger and well researched context, and my own philosophy of work, the importance of time away from it, the relevance of philosophical inquiry, all came to a much improved and robust state.