Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper

Listening, Watching, Reading: Suggestions from the Justice and Charity Committee

In an effort to continue highlighting the many resources for learning more about social justice and applying Catholic social teaching to our everyday interactions, this new blog feature will provide regular reviews of podcasts, movies, and books for those interested in learning more about social justice and Catholic social teaching. Provided by the Justice and Charity Committee members, these reviews will briefly describe context for the material and provide a summary of the work. These reviews represent the personal opinions of the writers and are not intended to be a formal endorsement or recommendation from Our Lady of Lourdes.

Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
Reviewed by Sergio Barrero

Josef Pieper was a Catholic German Philosopher who was born in 1904 in Elte, Germany and died in 1997 in Munster, Germany. Pieper earned a doctorate in philosophy in the 1920s and shortly after that began studying law and sociology. Much of his early work was focused on social justice issues, but because the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany prevented Christian authors from speaking publically about social issues, in 1934 Pieper resumed his work in philosophy. It is here that Pieper has left the most impact on Catholic philosophy. His goal was to elucidate a philosophical view of humanity, along with its ethical dimensions that was accessible to modern readers. Josef Pieper's work is of interest to any reader who enjoys reading works of philosophy and theology, who have an interest in learning about the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas but may not have the time to read or learn how to read the Summa. More generally though, Pieper's writing is for anyone who would like to gain an understanding of how to apply the wisdom of the Church to the modern world that we live in, especially a world preoccupied with activity and forgetful of virtue. Pieper is able to write in a manner that is clear, thought provoking, and inspiring. Unlike other philosophical works a reader can apply the wisdom in his books to their lives, in order to live a more flourishing life, with a higher sense of beauty, purpose and closeness to the creative work of God.

Pieper’s book Leisure: the Basis of Culture is especially relevant for a time when many of us have forgotten what leisure is and how to have it; this is particularly pertinent now when many of us are stuck at home, sheltering in place, and find ourselves with more time on our hands. I recommend this book to those who are unhappy with simply distracting themselves with media in their free time, those who long to reconnect with the beauty of the world, or those who feel compelled to justify activities in terms of productivity. In his book, Pieper makes an argument for the importance of leisure in society and a life of faith, and argues against a world view that overemphasizes the importance of work in a world where time is justified in terms of its productive value. In Leisure: the Basis of Culture, Pieper teaches us that work ought not to be the central activity and purpose of our lives, and instead the most important things we do are those activities done for their own sake, not for productive ends, but for themselves, of which the hallmark on this Earth is worship and the mass. Pieper suggests that real leisure is that in which we are made to rest and receive the goodness of God.