HZT4U Philosophy

? identify what Aristotle taught about leisure,

? compare and contrast two major philosophical perspectives on leisure,

? distinguish between a modern and a classical definition of leisure,

? define how leisure relates to well-being/happiness,

? define how philosopher Josef Pieper interpreted Aristotle, and

? generate arguments in a logical and analytic style of thinking.

According to Josef Pieper, how does the classical idea of leisure, found in Aristotle, differ from the modern idea of leisure? Present and incorporate also at least one point from the other readings on leisure as offered.

1. Prepare a persuasive essay to develop your particular approach to answering the question, establish your arguments, provide support for these arguments (both from the assigned readings and external sources), and summarize in a conclusion.

2. Format the paper using APA style, double spaced, with appropriate headings, and a title page and reference page.

3. The essay should be approximately, excluding title and reference pages).

4. A minimum of 4 references should be included, and should follow APA referencing style. Please use the readings and links found in the course units as your sources for this essay. You can use the textbook, any of the library articles or any of the other linked readings.

? His essay was a call for a paradigm shift in the culture, away from total work ethic and back to a leisure ethic

? Pieper challenges the reader, and modern society in general, to philosophically rethink the concept of “leisure”.

? For Pieper, modern leisure is empty and meaningless when not connected to religious worship and religious celebration. The modern social problems of constant anxiety, consumerism, workaholic mentality and existential boredom result from the improper understanding and use of leisure.

? For Josef Pieper, there is a modern prejudice against leisure. It means that people value secular entertainment and consumption over and above a religious or intellectual lifestyle. He sees the remedy for the existential boredom resulting from the endless consumption, secular humanism and the ethical egoism rampant in modern life. The inadequacies of modern leisure are no different than that in Aristotle’s time. The ever present problem of cultivating free time and knowing how to use it for the sake of the good is a universal human problem.