Lesiure and civility: Reflections on a Greek ideal

Abstract

De Grazia's study Of Time, Work, and Leisure requires reinterpretation based on a more thorough understanding of the Aristotelian conception of leisure on which it is based. The prevailing approach to Aristotle is that his conception of leisure focuses on withdrawal into philosophical contemplation. This is inaccurate for several reasons. Reviewing the interconnections among the concept of civility and Aristotle's emphasis in his practical philosophy on participation in the communal affairs of the city‐state, leisure is seen to be the arena in which the virtues of civil character are sought, demonstrated, and refined. This gives leisure a far more central place in the lives of people in themselves and in their communities. De Grazia's appeal to this conception in criticizing modern leisure thus becomes a more powerful indictment than has generally been recognized.

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