IUPUI

Common Theme Teaching Module

The Value of Work and of Leisure: Competing or Complementary Ends?

Developed by: Jason T. Eberl, Philosophy, IUPUI
Intended Audience: Courses in philosophy, religious studies, sociology

Learning Materials

• Bill McKibben, "Reversal of Fortune," Mother Jones, March 1, 2007
• Josef Pieper, Leisure: The Basis of Culture (St. Augustine's Press, 1998)
• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W. D. Ross, and Politics, trans. Benjamin Jowett
• Lawrence Hinman, "On Work and Play: Overcoming a Dichotomy" Man and World v. 8 (1975)

Learning Objectives

• Students will identify the principles and priorities articulated in Bill McKibben's article, "Reversal of Fortune," about how the priority of labor, production, and material acquisition has not yielded a commensurate increase in human happiness.
• Students will identity the principles articulated in Josef Pieper's book, Leisure: The Basis of Culture, and Aristotle's writings to critically analyze McKibben's thesis and supporting observations.
• Students will determine the relative value of activities associated with labor, productivity, or acquisition and leisure, as defined by Pieper.
• Students will investigate how to balance the demands - in terms of time, resources, and energy - of engaging in activities associated with labor, productivity, or acquisition and leisure.
• Students will develop their own reasoned perspective regarding the value of leisure in promoting individual and social progress.

Motivation and Rationale

McKibben observes that the unbridled pursuit and acquisition of wealth does not yield a net increase in human happiness. This observation is in line with the classical philosopher Aristotle's thesis that human happiness must consist in something other than material production and acquisition - namely, intellectual activity engaged in both individually and socially. 20th century philosopher Josef Pieper develops Aristotle's view that leisure, understood as intellectual activity as opposed to mere idleness, is necessary for the foundation and progress of culture. If Pieper's thesis holds, then not only are the results of McKibben's observations not surprising, but there is an even greater threat that a single-minded drive towards greater economic progress, to the neglect of other values, may actually threaten the identity and cohesiveness of culture. Given the importance of cultural identification for both an individual's self-identity, as well as the recognition of reciprocal bonds of dependency and responsibility among members of a society, the question of how the demands of both work and leisure may be satisfied will be important for students to consider as they prepare to enter the professional world. This investigation also involves the central question of whether work and leisure are competing or complementary ends: Are there zero-sum trade-offs that must be made in terms of time, resources, and energy between these two types of activity? Can leisure activities subserve the goals of work activities, leading to not only greater productivity but also greater happiness?

First Class

Preparation

Assign students to read before class: McKibben's "Reversal of Fortune" and the following selections from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Bk. I, Chs. 1-2, 5, 7; Bk. X, Ch. 7.

Structure

1. Opening 15 minutes: Economic Growth and Happiness

   Definition: Open the class with McKibben's observations regarding the lack of a net increase in human happiness commensurate with economic growth.

   Discussion: Are McKibben's observations accurate? Are there other examples that support his thesis? Are there any counterexamples in which unbridled material productivity and acquisition correlate with a net increase in happiness?

2. Middle 35 minutes: Reflection on Happiness

   Discussion: Ask students for their hypotheses on why growth and happiness do not track with each other beyond a certain level. How do students define "happiness"? What is the distinction between the state of being happy and what contributes or is necessary in order to be happy? Does the pursuit of material productivity and acquisition actually deter from the attainment of happiness?

   Instructor will reference Aristotle's view of happiness and what contributes to it as a counterpart to the views expressed by students.

3. Closing 25 minutes: Prioritizing What We Value

   Students break into small groups and create a list of "goods" they value and what is required in order to obtain them: whether they be types of material possessions (house, car, books), more abstract concepts (peace, security, freedom), forms of recreational activity (concerts, sporting events, civic celebrations), or relationships that contribute to their self-identity (family, religious affiliation, social networks).

   Students will then rank the degree to which they believe their time, resources, and energy should be devoted to attaining each of these goods.

Second Class

Preparation

Assign students to read before class: Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture: Chs. 1-3*, Hinman's "On Work and Play," and the following selections from Aristotle's Politics: Bk. VII, Pts. 14-15; Bk. VIII, Pt. 3.

* N.B. If this module is utilized in a Religious Studies course, the instructor may want to include also Ch. 5 of Pieper's book.

Students write a 2-3 page paper evaluating Pieper's argument for the necessity of leisure for the foundation and progress of culture, and relate his thesis to their concept of happiness and the list of priorities developed in the previous class. Does the student's sense of how various goods ought to be prioritized affirm the value of leisure as necessary for happiness? This paper should be typed and double-spaced and ready to hand in at the start of the next class. It should give parenthetical citations and list all sources used in a "Works Cited" list.

Students develop a chart of their time-consumption for the past week: labeling those activities that constitute "work" and "leisure" (as defined by Pieper). Note that not all activities will fall under these two labels - e.g., reading or watching something "mindless" would not constitute leisure according to Pieper - such activities should be labeled "other."

Structure

1. Opening 25 minutes: Sharing from Paper and Chart

   Ask students to volunteer their thoughts on Pieper's thesis as expressed in their paper. Instructor will explicate relevant points from Pieper's text as the discussion progresses.

   Ask students for their reaction to their time-consumption chart: Are they surprised at how much time they devote in a week to either "work" or "leisure" activities? Do they feel that they do not spend sufficient time engaged in activities associated with one or the other categories? What role to they feel the "other" activities play in contributing to their happiness?

2. Middle 40 minutes: Strategies for Cultivating the Virtue of Leisure

   Students break into small groups and discuss how leisure, as understood by them in light of Pieper's text, should be prioritized. The central question at hand concerns how various types of activities, whether work or leisure, should consume their time. A related question concerns how social resources may be allocated to promote the quality of leisure activity in which the students, or Pieper, believe we ought to engage - e.g., construction of museums, greater funding for post-secondary education, production of documentary programming for public broadcasting, increased vacation time from employers, etc.

3. Final 10 minutes: Discussion of Group Work

   A spokesperson for each group shares the group's thoughts on both the importance of leisure activity, either agreeing or disagreeing with Pieper's thesis, and how we, both as individuals and collectively, ought to prioritize our time, resources, and energy in such activity as opposed to activities associated with labor, productivity, or acquisition.