posted January 30, 2010 05:05 PM         

"I don't think necessity is the mother of invention -
invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness,
possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble."
~ Agatha Christie

"Idleness is not doing nothing.
Idleness is being free to do anything."
~ Floyd Dell

-----------------------------

In Praise Of Idleness
by Bertrand Russell

Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: 'Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.' Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached...

I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work.

Read It

--------------------------

The Idler
by Samuel Johnson

"Every mode of life has its conveniencies. The Idler, who habituates himself to be satisfied with what he can most easily obtain, not only escapes labours which are often fruitless, but sometimes succeeds better than those who despise all that is within their reach, and think every thing more valuable as it is harder to be acquired."

"Among those whom I never could persuade to rank themselves with Idlers, and who speak with indignation of my morning sleeps and nocturnal rambles; one passes the day in catching spiders, that he may count their eyes with a microscope; another erects his head, and exhibits the dust of a marigold separated from the flower with a dexterity worthy of Leuwenhoeck himself... Some register the changes of the wind, and die fully convinced that the wind is changeable."

"Whatever diversion is costly will be frequented by those who desire to be thought rich; and whatever has, by any accident, become fashionable, easily continues its reputation, because every one is ashamed of not partaking it."

"I suppose every man is shocked when he hears how frequently soldiers are wishing for war. The wish is not always sincere; the greater part are content with sleep and lace, and counterfeit an ardour which they do not feel; but those who desire it most are neither prompted by malevolence nor patriotism; they neither pant for laurels, nor delight in blood; but long to be delivered from the tyranny of idleness, and restored to the dignity of active beings."

Johnson says that everything people really need is plentiful and easy to reach. It is only when people strive for things beyond their reach that they have difficulty.

"Thus plenty is the original cause of many of our needs; and even the poverty, which is so frequent and distressful in civilized nations, proceeds often from that change of manners which opulence has produced. Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries; but custom gives the name of poverty to the want of superfluities."

Johnson says that although wealth is now a universal goal, it cannot buy any more happiness than it did when poverty was thought to be virtuous. He illustrates this point with the story of Tom Tranquil. Tom inherited a huge fortune when he came of age, and his friends set about spending it for him. He is, however, utterly indifferent to their choices.

"A companion, who had just learned the names of the Italian masters, runs from sale to sale, and buys pictures, for which Mr Tranquil pays, without inquiring where they shall be hung. Another fills his garden with statues, which Tranquil wishes away, but dares not remove. One of his friends is learning architecture by building him a house, which he passed by, and inquired to whom it belonged; another has been for three years digging canals and raising mounts, cutting trees down in one place, and planting them in another, on which Tranquil looks with a serene indifference, without asking what will be the cost. Another projector tells him that a waterwork, like that of Versailles, will complete the beauties of his seat, and lays his draughts before him: Tranquil turns his eyes upon them, and the artist begins his explanations; Tranquil raises no objections, but orders him to begin the work, that he may escape from talk which he does not understand."

"But experience is the test by which all the philosophers of the present age agree, that speculation must be tried; and I may be, therefore, allowed to doubt the power of money, since I have been a long time rich, and have not yet found that riches can make me happy."

"He that writes upon general principles, or delivers universal truths, may hope to be often read, because his work will be equally useful at all times and in every country; but he cannot expect it to be received with eagerness, or to spread with rapidity, because desire can have no particular stimulation: that which is to be loved long, must be loved with reason rather than with passion. He that lays his labours out upon temporary subjects, easily finds readers, and quickly loses them; for what should make the book valued when the subject is no more?"

"Yet there are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that writes the history of his own times, if he adheres steadily to truth, will write that which his own times will not easily endure. He must be content to reposite his book, till all private passions shall cease, and love and hatred give way to curiosity."

"Though the Idler and his readers have contracted no close friendship, they are, perhaps, both unwilling to part."

posted January 30, 2010 05:39 PM         

However the unwanted unavoidable idleness of the disabled, is not a positive thing.
One is not free to do anything they want to do.
So the praise for Idleness is not always justified.
It must be a conscious choice to be idle, not an undesired effect of one's body/mind infirmities.

posted January 30, 2010 06:33 PM         

I hear you, but,
if one was forced,
though disabled, to work
as though one were not,
one might praise idleness,
and choose it, even though
the affliction was not chosen.

Also, there are forms of activity
which may be called idle, and which
may allow tremendous freedom, yet,
which accomplish much --
as much by what they leave undone
as by what they choose to do.

posted January 30, 2010 07:50 PM         

quote:

---

LEXX,

I hear you, but,
if one was forced,
though disabled, to work
as though one were not,
one might praise idleness,
and choose it, even though
the affliction was not chosen.

---

quote:

---

Also, there are forms of activity
which may be called idle, and which
may allow tremendous freedom, yet,
which accomplish much --
as much by what they leave undone
as by what they choose to do.

---

posted January 31, 2010 01:42 AM         

quote:

---

Yes, I agree, but only if the disability were not physical but non physical in nature.

---

I'm not sure I follow you. What I mean is that, if someone is legitimately disabled, being forced to work would be cruel and unusual punishment. Do you disagree? If you agree, then, you must also agree that the person would choose idleness, since the alternative is not health, but cruel and unusual punishment.

In any case, the sort of idleness being praised here is of another order entirely. We are talking about leisure, freedom, the spontaneous and unchaperoned pursuit of private and impersonal interests, and all of those things, -- but, more than that, we are talking about abstaining from work which is positively harmful. The issue is that work in itself has become associated with goodness, and idleness with badness. While this is largely an American problem, and not as much of a problem in the rest of the world (unless you consider the effect America's problem has on the rest of the world), it also touches on universal themes of interest to all of us. We, in America, are the inheritors of a Calvinist ideology which teaches us that we deserve nothing which we have not slaved for. Our Protestant work ethic, while not without its good points, has devolved into extreme materialism, competitiveness, and anxiety. Our spirit of ambition has been focused too sharply, and on the wrong things entirely. We no longer know how to appreciate what is easy and God-given. We shape nature and everything to suit our purposes, and our purposes are never satisfied. We have an obsession with production, procreation, bigger, better, faster, more... We have a society constructed so as to present us with unlimited variety in material things (since our tastes cannot be restrained and, anyway, it is easier than developing variety in our thoughts, imaginings, and sympathies), and which allows certain individuals to achieve absurd wealth; but, in order for that opportunity to exist, natural resources must be rapidly depleted, and many many people need to work very hard for hours and hours, days and days, years and years, etc., while many other people need to be homeless, to starve, and to be sick. Moreover, some of the most useful and meaningful qualities (along with the people who have them) are devalued and stigmatized, while qualities and efforts that mean little and ultimately harm society receive an unfair share of respect and rewards. We need to make a radical shift towards values traditionally associated with the feminine. That's what this is about.

posted January 31, 2010 02:03 AM         

Please read my response to LEXX. I appreciate your rosy sentiments. But we are all in this together. Our choices affect one another. They influence laws and institutions which all of us are accountable to. As of this moment, this century, we live in a country where one point of view is monopolizing and dominating the culture to the detriment of another, -- frankly, more evolved, -- point of view. The people who agree with it may promote something like "live and let live", but its only because they desire "business as usual". Of course they don't want it brought up. They've already "won", but, if they enter into a debate, they know they will lose. They know they are on the wrong side of the truth here. They know that the culture they support squanders resources and starves people. I don't fault them so much for not changing their lives -- we are all caught in this web and none of us appear to be pulling the strings. But I fault them for not courageously admitting the truth when they hear it, and changing their minds and words, at least. That is, anyway, how things begin to change on all levels. Again, we are all interdependent, and the indifference of those whose views dominate our age directly equates to the distress of so many, of the planet, and, ultimately, even of themselves. So, its not really a case of "you do your thing, i'll do mine". But that is a nice thought.

posted January 31, 2010 02:34 AM         

quote:

---

I'm not sure I follow you. What I mean is that, if someone is legitimately disabled, being forced to work would be cruel and unusual punishment. Do you disagree? If you agree, then, you must also agree that the person would choose idleness, since the alternative is not health, but cruel and unusual punishment.

---

posted January 31, 2010 06:31 AM         

those that are strong and can work and provide releif for those that are disabled and can not work is honourable.

yes live and let live is a good philosophy. i sincerly believe more people would be starving should everything come to a screetching halt and those that are productive stop producing resources.... but you can never see anyones point of view but your own as having merit and you superior lofty attitude is alive and well and shines with every word you write.

posted January 31, 2010 11:04 AM         

cpn,