About This Book

Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper is a seminal work in the field of philosophy, particularly in the context of modern society. This book, first published over 50 years ago, remains as relevant today as it was when it first appeared. Hereâ€™s a conversational overview of the book:

Who Uses It?

Primarily, this book is used by students and scholars of philosophy, particularly those interested in the intersection of culture, leisure, and spirituality. It is also a valuable resource for anyone looking to understand the importance of leisure in fostering a deeper connection with the world and with oneself. Educators and researchers in fields like cultural studies, theology, and philosophy often find this book essential for their studies.

History and Editions

The book has been in circulation since its initial publication, with the current edition including Pieper's work, *The Philosophical Act*. This edition has been updated to reflect the ongoing relevance of Pieper's ideas about leisure and its role in shaping culture. The book's enduring significance is a testament to its timeless insights into human nature and the importance of contemplation in a world dominated by activity.

Author and Other Works

Josef Pieper was a German philosopher known for his profound insights into the human condition. He wrote extensively on topics such as leisure, philosophy, and spirituality. *Leisure: The Basis of Culture* is one of his most influential works, alongside *The Philosophical Act*. Pieper's writing style is characterized by clarity and depth, making his works accessible to a broad audience while maintaining intellectual rigor.

Key Features

Understanding Leisure: Pieper argues that leisure is not merely the absence of work but an attitude of the mind and a condition of the soul. He shows how ancient Greeks and medieval Europeans valued leisure as a means to contemplate the nature of God and the world.
Cultural Significance: The book highlights how modern society's emphasis on constant activity has led to a vanishing of true leisure. Pieper warns that unless we regain the art of silence and insight, we risk destroying our culture and ourselves.
Philosophical Act: This edition includes Pieper's work on *The Philosophical Act*, which explores the nature of philosophical inquiry and its relationship with everyday life.

Detailed Information

ISBNs and Formats

Paperback: ISBN-13: 9781586172565
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Publication Date: 2009
Dimensions: 8.00 x 5.30 inches
Weight: 8 ounces
Pages: 200

Other Editions and Formats

Hardcover: Not available
eTextbook: Not available
Loose-leaf: Not available
Rental Options: Not available

Publication Details

Publisher: Ignatius Press
Publication Date: December 2009
Number of Pages: 200
Language: English
Item Weight: 8 ounces
Dimensions: 8.00 x 5.30 inches

Related ISBNs

9781586172565 (Paperback)
1586172565 (Paperback)

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Author Biography

Josef Pieper was one of the most renowned and popular philosophers of the twentieth century. He wrote dozens of titles on all aspects of philosophy and living, including Only the Lover Sings, Guide to Thomas Aquinas, Hope and History, In Defense of Philosophy, and In Search of the Sacred.

Foreword	p. 9
Author's Preface to the English Edition	p. 15
Leisure The Basis Of Culture
Leisure the foundation of Western culture
"We are 'unleisurely' in order to have leisure"
Aristotle
The claims of the world of "total work"	p. 19
"Intellectual work" and "intellectual worker"
Discursive thought and "intellectual contemplation"
Kant and the Romantics
Ratio and Intellectus: the medieval conception of knowledge
Contemplation "superhuman"
Knowledge as "work": the two aspects of this conception
"Unqualified activity"
Effort and effortlessness
Hard work is what is good
Antisthenes
Thomas Aquinas: "it is not the difficulty which is the decisive point"
Contemplation and play
Willingness to suffer
First comes the "gift"
"Intellectual work" as a social function	p. 25
Sloth (acedia) and the incapacity to leisure
Leisure as non-activity
Leisure as a festive attitude
Leisure and rest from work
Leisure above all functions
Leisure as a means of rising above the "really human"	p. 43
The influence of the ideal of leisure- "Humanism" an inadequate position?
Excursus on "proletariat"
The philosopher and the common working man
Man "fettered to work"
Lack of property, State compulsion and inner impoverishment as the causes
"Proletarians" not limited to the proletariat
artes liberates and artes serviles
Proudhon on Sunday
"Deprole-tarianization" and the opening of the realm of leisure	p. 53
Leisure made inwardly possible through Divine Worship
Feast and worship
Unused time and space
The world of work and the Feast day
Leisure divorced from worship becomes idleness
The significance of Divine worship	p. 65
The Philosophical Act
By philosophizing we step beyond the world of work
"Common need" and "common good"
The "world of total work" rests on the identification of "common need" and "common good"
The situation of philosophy in the "world of work"
The relation between religious acts and aesthetic acts, between philosophizing and the experience of love or death
Sham forms of these basic attitudes in life
The everlasting misunderstanding between philosophy and the everyday world of work: The Thracian Maid and a figure in the Platonic dialogues (Appollodorus). The positive aspect of their incommensurability: the freedom of philosophy (its unusableness)
The knowledge of the functionary and the knowledge of a gentleman
The sciences "unfiree"
Philosophy free, its theoretical character
The presupposition of theoria
The belief that man's real wealth consists neither in the satisfaction of his needs, nor in the control of nature	p. 77
Where does the philosophical act carry us when it transcends the "world of work"?
The world as a field of relations
The hierarchie gradations of the world
The notion "surroundings" (v. Uexküll)
Spirit as the power of apprehending the world; spirit exists within the whole of reality
Being as related to spirit: the truth of things
The gradations of inwardness: the relation to the totality of being and personality
The world of spirit: the totality of things and the essence of things
Man not a pure spirit
Man's field of relations: both world and environment, both together
Philosophizing as a step beyond our environment vis-à-vis de Vunivers
The step as "superhuman"
The distinguishing mark, of a philosophical question: it is on the horizon of the whole of reality	p. 93
"World" and "environment" are not watertight compartments
The world preserved in the environment: wonder
The "un-bourgeois" character of philosophical wonder
The danger of being uprooted from the workaday world
Wonder as "the confusion of thought at itself"
The inner direction of wonder not aimed at doubt but at the sense of mystery
Wonder as the moving principle of philosophy
The structure of hope and the structure of wonder similar
The special sciences cease "wondering", philosophy does not
Philosophia as the loving search for wisdom as it is possessed by God
The inner impossibility of a "closed" system of philosophy
Philosophizing as the completion of man's existence	p. 109
Philosophy always preceded by a traditional interpretation of the world
Plato, Aristotle and the pre-socratics in their relation to tradition
Plato tradition as revelation
Its freedom vis-à-vis theology one of the^ marks of Plato's philosophizing
Christian theology the form of pre-philosophic tradition to be found in the West
The vitality of philosophy dependent upon its relation to theology
Is a non-Christian philosophy possible?
Christian philosophy not characterized by its ready answers but by its pro-founder apprehension of the mysterious nature of the world
Christian philosophy not intellectually simpler
The joy which goes with not being able to understand utterly and completely
Christianity not, in the first place, doctrine but reality
The real soil of Christian philosophizing
the living experience of Christianity as reality	p. 127
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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