It is refreshing to be able to relax and have time to myself this summer, and I am reading the perfect book for leisure time, The Unseriousness of Human Affairs by Fr. James Schall. He is a professor at Georgetown, a priest, and a hell of a good writer. It is also very nice to receive a dose of Aristotelian ethics and teleology when one is unsure of how to balance contentment and productivity in one’s leisurely activities. We always have much to plan for but we also have much room for character development.
Schall is very good at arguing for the true status of war in society. His emphasis is that we should most often be concerned with how we condition ourselves while we are not overtly in battle. The essence and true meat of war take root in the home and in the public square, not on the battlefield. Yet, it is a marvel to me that we would rather obsess over federal concerns while our moral frameworks are rotting out from under our own homes. Well, I’ll be honest, it is not really a marvel… given our human tendency to obsess over other people’s mistakes, economic band-aids, and political scapegoats, only to direct our attention from our own grime and grease in our own garages.
But Aristotle and Plato understand free activity outside of our sometimes degrading bureaucracy, and Schall illuminates the importance of excelling at this free activity quite succinctly. Schall offers Aristotle’s belief, “to play is to contemplate” (“Tudere Contemplari” ?), as a metaphysical structure to all of our free activity, that is, activity that does not have to be done, activity that is not a must, as one would be if one was in a state of war or in a capitalist work machine. When we are not in a state of war, we act as we choose, not as we must. If we can act as we choose, this is an expression of true human freedom, and to choose to act excellently is perhaps the freest of human activity. Why? Because, to act excellently is to fulfill the virtue of being truly human, and a most intelligible and good action is seen to tend toward good goals and productive effects. That is, we are shaped, fulfilled, and appreciated by virtue of the final causes of our free activity. Thus, when we are not in the workplace, in the factory, or on the battlefield, we should choose our activity wisely, responsibly, and attentively. A good politician is a good mother or father, and a good school teacher is a good parent. Why? Because we are shaped by habits, by the choice of our habits, and our choice of how we perform those habits. Yet, we do not do this for utilitarian ends. We do this as an enjoyment in and of itself. Our activity should be appreciated for what it is, because every second and ounce of it performed is good. Therefore, “Evil for good” is a farce. Some Hegelian form of enslavement for the sake of freedom is not honorable, because such things are not good as ends in themselves. They present a future image of “good” and that is all. Not only so, but they obsess and work over time to make goodness and assure that goodness is brought about. They are fundamentally self-absorbed.
These are great concepts for a starving society. I look forward to more of this book.
Schall is very good at arguing for the true status of war in society. His emphasis is that we should most often be concerned with how we condition ourselves while we are not overtly in battle. The essence and true meat of war take root in the home and in the public square, not on the battlefield. Yet, it is a marvel to me that we would rather obsess over federal concerns while our moral frameworks are rotting out from under our own homes. Well, I’ll be honest, it is not really a marvel… given our human tendency to obsess over other people’s mistakes, economic band-aids, and political scapegoats, only to direct our attention from our own grime and grease in our own garages.
But Aristotle and Plato understand free activity outside of our sometimes degrading bureaucracy, and Schall illuminates the importance of excelling at this free activity quite succinctly. Schall offers Aristotle’s belief, “to play is to contemplate” (“Tudere Contemplari” ?), as a metaphysical structure to all of our free activity, that is, activity that does not have to be done, activity that is not a must, as one would be if one was in a state of war or in a capitalist work machine. When we are not in a state of war, we act as we choose, not as we must. If we can act as we choose, this is an expression of true human freedom, and to choose to act excellently is perhaps the freest of human activity. Why? Because, to act excellently is to fulfill the virtue of being truly human, and a most intelligible and good action is seen to tend toward good goals and productive effects. That is, we are shaped, fulfilled, and appreciated by virtue of the final causes of our free activity. Thus, when we are not in the workplace, in the factory, or on the battlefield, we should choose our activity wisely, responsibly, and attentively. A good politician is a good mother or father, and a good school teacher is a good parent. Why? Because we are shaped by habits, by the choice of our habits, and our choice of how we perform those habits. Yet, we do not do this for utilitarian ends. We do this as an enjoyment in and of itself. Our activity should be appreciated for what it is, because every second and ounce of it performed is good. Therefore, “Evil for good” is a farce. Some Hegelian form of enslavement for the sake of freedom is not honorable, because such things are not good as ends in themselves. They present a future image of “good” and that is all. Not only so, but they obsess and work over time to make goodness and assure that goodness is brought about. They are fundamentally self-absorbed.
These are great concepts for a starving society. I look forward to more of this book.
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