The world of work is described as the world where a person is compelled to work for a living. Aristotle defines the world of work as the point where the human is supposed to vend for their needs. The world of leisure on the other is described as the point where an individual enjoys the fruits of their hard work. Aristotle uses an analogy that to enjoy the world of leisure; one ought to give an effort in their work. He says that it is only the fulfillment from the work that will yield comfort to one. Leisure, on the other hand, is viewed differently by the puritan and the egalitarian; the puritan has the view that leisure is a source of vices. In this, they mean that in the event of taking leisure, it is at that moment that an individual is prone to committing unnecessary deeds. Egalitarian on the other hand approaches leisure as a sign of privilege ( Pieper, 2009) . It is the point where one is awarded a chance to be free from the circus of work. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether the “world of work” is incommensurable with the “world of wonder.”
Pieper’s View of Work and Leisure
The Marxists, on their end, views leisure as an unjust surplus where a few individuals get to enjoy at the expense of the others. Many people in the world want to use the time that they have to work for more. Leisure is viewed by many as a form of wasting time which they would have rather used to develop more for themselves. Pieper argues that there has been confusion on the views of work and leisure. People have resorted to viewing leisure as a form of idleness. They see it as a point where one is not making use of their potentials rather just wasting time. Work, on the other hand, is viewed as a form of creativity ( Pieper, 2009) . Pieper argues that leisure is not idleness but rather another form of work if it is informed by leisure. He argues that without leisure, work would have no meaning. Leisure is the end whereas work is a means to the end.
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From the religious point of view, Pieper argues that the teachings tell the human to offer thanks and rejoice at the end of their striving. It is at this point where individuals are celebrating with others in a festival that helps individuals recognize their sovereign position in the world. Pieper argues that what makes individuals fail to understand the difference between them and other animals is the failure to comprehend what leisure is. He explains that when animals feed, they do it just for survival, but the human have meals as a form of celebration of the life ( Pieper, 2009) . The time that individuals seat down to have a meal, they are removing themselves from the world of work. He argues that the festivals and feasts that are celebrated by humans are ways to lift them from idleness and give meaning to their lives.
Aristotle’s Theory of Leisure
Aristotle argues that leisure comes with freedom. He advocates for the freedom of the women and slaves so that they can be given the luxury of leisure. He claims that leisure was only reserved for the males only. He argued that to lead an ideal lifestyle involves an individual living a virtuous life and avoiding vices. He describes the case of politicians. He argues that politicians’ leisure comes from the knowledge that his political duties have been performed. The argument is that is only through the fulfillment of work that one will achieve the freedom to enjoy leisure. He further argues that leisure comes only from freedom. Leisure cannot be enjoyed by men who are not free, slaves and the craftsmen cannot enjoy leisure as they have to spend all their lives in their occupations (Belfiore, 2014). He argues that leisure comes with the freedom to pursue activities that are aimed at cultivating our virtues; this could include poetry, music or philosophy. Aristotle’s arguments do not, however, does not create a strict cut between leisure and work. He argues that someone can be occupied with work in their better part of the day but devotes the rest of the time to activities that bring leisure.
Plato’s Theory of Leisure
The view of Plato on leisure is that it is a central part of the lives of individuals. He argues that leisure is an important form that is useful in teaching liberal arts. He urges that schools should instill in citizens the virtue of leisure and not allow people to be entangled in the circle of working all the time. His argument is based on the fact that children often learn through plays. The play is a form of leisure, and therefore schools should teach them on the virtue of play. The use of plays in helping the adults learn about philosophy was the only way through which they could discover the truth ( Spracklen et al., 2017) . Plato is of the idea that the society should encourage leisure as a way to help individuals discover the truths about themselves.
Comparing Plato’s and Aristotle’s Approaches
Both of the philosophers; Aristotle and Plato gave their intellectual perspectives of how people should live their lives. They argued that people should not be focused too much on their work and fail to appreciate the virtue of leisure. People tend to focus on giving a lot of effort in the hope that they will enjoy living in the future. They fail to understand there is no better way to enjoy it rather than living the present life to their satisfaction. The cliché “all-time work and no play make Jack a dull boy” explains the reasons we need to incorporate leisure in our lives. Leisure gives us the urge to continue focusing on our work. The two acknowledges how it is important for individuals to optimize their lives ( Spracklen et al., 2017) . It helps them to focus live a productive life. Helping an individual to develop a proper character will help the individual to live an optimal lifestyle.
Contemporary Philosophy of Leisure
It is hard for individuals to think about achieving excellence in another way other than working. The modern society is focused so much on work. The ancient Greeks however viewed work to be a primary form over which to achieve leisure. Pieper’s work critics the work-oriented lifestyle and argues that leisure is indeed useful in helping individuals get a break from the work environment ( Kelly, 2016) . He argues that the phenomena in today’s society are living so as to work rather than working so as to live well.
Conclusion
The society today has instilled in people the art of work. People do not value the role of leisure in leading a positive life. People have had the tendency to focus too much on achieving a lot in their workplace and doing little about leisure. Leisure has been perceived as a form of idleness. This has caused people not to take time to take up activities that give them pleasure. This has resulted in a society that everyone focuses on work. The text by Aristotle and Plato gives an insight into the reasons why human needs leisure in their lives. The world of leisure is important in the daily lives of individuals. The world of leisure acts as an encouragement to continue working ( Pieper, 2009) . It is therefore important that individuals ensure that they take part in leisure and not let work take up all their lives. The two approaches are incommensurable. Each approach has a role that they play in the lives of an individual.
References
Belfiore, E. S. (2014). Tragic Pleasures: Aristotle on plot and emotion . Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton university press.
Kelly, C. (2016). Taking leisure seriously: An investigation of leisure to work enrichment (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield).
Pieper, J. (2009). Leisure, the basis of culture . San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press.
Spracklen, K., Lashua, B., Sharpe, E., & Swain, S. (2017). Palgrave Handbook of Leisure Theory . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
