In the modern world, a significant number of people have exaggerated the value of work, forgetting that human beings need leisure and pure happiness. Most of them interpret leisure as being idle, resting for the sake of returning to work refreshed, or vacation. However, early philosophers had a different meaning for leisure. Aristotle was a great and influential Greek Philosopher. Born in the town of Stageira in 384 B.C, Aristotle was the founder of Lyceum. His leisure and happiness theory was an important and dominant theory of his time. Joseph Pieper was a German philosopher in the 20 th century. He is famous for his work: Leisure as the Basis of Culture. Both Aristotle and Pieper’s theories of leisure and happiness belong to the working world as they do not eradicate it. Although separated by over 2000 years, the classical and modern concepts of leisure and happiness were similar in origin; they have significant social, theoretical, and ethical differences.
Socially, the classical and modern theories of leisure and happiness differ in several ways. According to Aristotle, children need to be taught the useful and necessary things and not everything (Bruce, 2007). What a person learns makes a huge difference. The concept also cites a difference between free and unfree tasks. What one does for the sake of friends, for his own sake, and on account of virtue is free (Bruce, 2007) . But what people do for the others who are viewed to be acting as slaves and hired laborers is unfree. He remarks that there is no leisure for slaves. Aristotle also notes that for an activity to be leisure, one has to be free. Pursuing activities and studies that are intended to help cultivate virtue, such as poetry, philosophy, and music, can lead to noble leisure. While the contemporary idea of the relationship between leisure and happiness is broad, its fundamental principle is quite simple. The view explains that a good life involves people thinking they are living good lives regardless of their social class. Subjective leisure is a state of mind that comprises of two conditions: intrinsic motivation and freedom. Perceived freedom is the most fundamental among the two (Human Kinetics, 2005) . Furthermore, Johan and Marco explain that an activity is termed as leisure if the individual participant considers it to be (Johan & Marco, 2017) . The activity can occur at any place and time, and it results in feelings of enjoyment, pleasure, and satisfaction. Some people consider going on a vacation as leisure; others prefer to go hiking, watching television, or simply watching your favorite movie.
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Contemporary and ancient theories of leisure and happiness differ in theoretical perspective. In regards to Aristotle’s concept, leisure is an activity that brings excellent fulfillment and not mere relaxation. The theory offers a complete relationship between leisure, virtue, and happiness (Joseph, 2005) . In the Nicomachean Ethics, he observes that happiness is the best life for individuals, and that makes it the purpose and ultimate end of life. Pieper also quotes Aristotle that total enjoyment of leisure is both divine and human. According to Pieper, leisure is a spiritual and mental attitude and not the result of external factors. It is an inner silence that allows individuals to see reality and not laziness. He notes that culture is dependent on leisure, and the cult of divine worship influences leisure. Pieper terms cult as a ritual of public sacrifice that serves as the primary source of freedom and independence (Hugh, 2004) . Culture includes the common goods of the world that belong to people but are beyond the immediate needs and wants of individuals. Leisure as the foundation of culture is, therefore, the vital relationship to reality as a "philosophical act. He terms leisure as a contemplative celebration and coordination between oneself and the rest of the creation. Leisure is done for its own sake and not a regular break from work. In the recent past, the interpretations of the classical view of leisure have developed additional insight for creating a practical modern philosophy of leisure. The theory demonstrates happiness as a product of what individuals do, what they have, as well as the leisure to implement virtue. According to Pieper, Aristotle's idea of leisure differs from the contemporary view (Cambridge University Press, 1981) . The original concept of leisure has been forgotten, with today's culture being basically workaholic. The modern theory is subjective, while Aristotle's theory is objective. Modern conception explain s that the true meaning of leisure should be an endeavor for personal happiness (Susana, 2017) . The concept views leisure as a break from work and is characterized by pleasure, relaxation, and recreation. Pieper argues that people must confront the contradictions caused by an overemphasis on the world of work to get the real meaning of leisure.
The classic and contemporary theories of leisure and happiness are also ethically different. In a section of Aristotle's theory, happiness requires an understanding of what to aim at. The classical idea of leisure involves knowing how to choose the right activity at the appropriate time, doing it correctly, and with the right attitude. For instance, a virtuous person understands that making money beyond what is required in the name of ensuring a comfortable and life interferes with morally superior actions like friendship, contemplation, and politics. Such a person knows when to move from moneymaking to leisure. The need for labor limited happiness opportunities gave leisure a critical place in Aristotle's ethics. Leisure is the principle for all the proper actions for happiness. Happiness is, therefore, a life-long virtuous activity that is enhanced by the opportunity of leisure (Joseph, 2005) . It is an objective condition involving virtuous leisure and is recognized by others as worthy of praise because it expresses what is most excellent in an individual. Further, Human kinetics explains that modern theory suggests that leisure and happiness refer to a person's emotional and mental evaluations of their own lives (Human Kinetics, 2005) . As such, happiness often lies within one's perspective and is not bound by morals, principles, religion, or beliefs. One connecting thread between the modern and contemporary ethical view of leisure is the fact that they are done by choice and not under compulsion. Also, people pay to undertake such activities and are not paid to engage in such pursuits.
There are significant differences between modern and ancient concepts of leisure and happiness (found in Aristotle's theory) in terms of ethical, theoretical, and social implications. Concerning theory, contemporary theorists have tried to incorporate ancient conceptions, but they have corrupted the original accounts. These theorists have produced specious associations that have resulted in contradictions and errors. Concerning practice, the modern conception regards leisure service providers as engineers of leisure experiences. As such, these providers feel that people are experiencing leisure and happiness, while this may not be the case. On Aristotle's account, there is no strict division between leisure and work. The modern concept puts pleasure as a significant part of leisure. Most current forms of leisure activities may provide relaxation but may not facilitate happiness. However, the classical idea includes pleasure as a mere part of leisure. Leisure, in their idea, is a richer concept compared to pure relaxation, pleasure, or recreation.
References
Bruce, T. (2007). The Noble Leisure Project . Retrieved October 23, 2019, from The Noble Leisure Project: https://blogs.harvard.edu/
Cambridge University Press. (1981). Aristotle on Leisure. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 713-723.
Hugh, T. (2004). Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. London: Penguin.
Human Kinetics. (2005). Introduction to Recreation and Leisure. Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Johan, B., & Marco, v. (2017). Philosophy of Leisure: Foundations of the good life. Abingdon: Routledge.
Joseph, O. (2005). Aristotle on Leisure. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 11.
Susana, J. (2017). Downshifting: Regaining the Essence of Leisure. Journal of Leisure Research , 69-73.
