Peterson on Pieper

The new Gilbert Magazine arrived this week. In the Miscellany of Men Department, John Peterson provides a splendid overview of one of our favorite philosophers, Josef Pieper. No link available. Excerpts:

[Pieper] never used technical language, preferring instead the language of common sense, the language of the people. But his plain speaking must not be mistaken for a lack of depth. It is a shame that our politicians have muddied the meaning of the word 'nuance,' giving it the connotation of studied vagueness. Pieper's nuanced approach means he attacks an idea from every direction, right and left, back and forth, up and down. And just when the reader thinks everything possible has been said, Pieper will lay open the idea to a new and unsuspected dimension of meaning, its deepest and truest meaning. It's heady stuff.

Pieper believed that living a virtuous life requires leisure. He frequently wrote on the evils of 'German efficiency,' the mindless devotion to work, effort, productivity, accomplishment, and acquiring the trappings of success. He deplored the loss of true leisure, which workers in his day and ours think of as 'time off.' Pieper said time off is as much directed toward work as time on the clock, its purpose being to replenish our energies so that we may return to work with renewed vigor. . . .".

For a review by Eric Scheske of Pieper's Leisure, The Basis of Culture, click here.