Part 1 ends with an assertion that leisure is not necessarily relaxing and therefore not useful. This part will elaborate on why this is so.
To begin, allow me to distinguish between practical necessity or usefulness and liberality. Something is useful when it allows the user to attain something apart form the object being used. For example, a pencil is useful because it allows the user to make markings on paper. A pencil is simply a means to write or draw. A useful thing is simply a means to an end. It is a way by which we get something more valuable. By contrast, a liberal or noble thing is not a means but an end. It is intrinsically valuable, meaning that it is not utilized to gain something of greater value. As such, it is enjoyed for its inherent worth.
Utility and liberality also apply to the activities that we do. We do useful things like going to work. Work is a means for us to get compensated. The money we receive we use to buy food, which we, in turn, eat in order for us to live biologically. Notice that the useful activities that we engage in all lead to something else. Each one leads to what Adler describes as an extrinsic reward. The benefit comes as a result of doing something. At the very end of this chain of usefulness are activities that do not lead to something else. These activities reward intrinsically as the benefits come with doing them and not after. These terminal activities, done for their own sakes, are noble, liberal or free because they are not tied to practical necessity. They are done simply for the enjoyment they bring. And a person is happy when engaging in them. These intrinsically enjoyable activities fall under what is called leisure.
Contrary to current assumptions, rest and relaxation is not a form of leisure. R&r, amusement to Aristotle, is useful and not liberal. It works like medicine, Aristotle says, and should be treated as such. Medicine ought not to be taken for its own sake. It is only consumed when necessary, i.e. to cure a malady. Relaxation is medication for the ailment called fatigue caused by work. People relax to re-charge in order to work again. They work so that in the end they can enjoy leisure. The problem is that many people in this pragmatic world lose sight of this end and wind up idolizing r&r or play. The "work hard, play hard" mentality is a result of this error. It is dangerous because it begins a vicious cycle of rest and work that eventually degenerates into boredom and absurdity. It also turns into an addiction for an impermanent high which escalates into a quest for more temporary, escapist pleasures that ultimately lead to burn-out. It is a downward spiral with no self-improvement occurring in the individual.
By contrast, leisure is not an elixir that cures fatigue. On the contrary, it may even cause fatigue. Think, for example, of a book lover reading War and Peace. Reading this very thick book is mentally exhausting and is strenuous to the eyes. But this does not stop the reader form reading. After resting he proceeds to read again. Why does he do this? It is certainly not relaxing and not everybody gets paid for reading a novel. He does this not for any extrinsic reward but for the sheer joy of reading.
Leisure is not compulsory like r&r. Leisure is freely engaged in. A person chooses to do a leisurely activity and makes time for it. Also, a man at leisure enjoys himself while at leisure and not after. A man listening to his favorite song enjoys while listening and not after the last note dissolves into oblivion.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, leisure improves the person engaging in it. Reading sharpens reading skills and adds to the knowledge of the person. It develops the human faculties, enlarges the mind and is much prized for it improves the soul. Leisure's reward is intrinsic and secure in the person engaging in it.
How do these things apply to the activity of watching movies? The answer will come in part 3.
To begin, allow me to distinguish between practical necessity or usefulness and liberality. Something is useful when it allows the user to attain something apart form the object being used. For example, a pencil is useful because it allows the user to make markings on paper. A pencil is simply a means to write or draw. A useful thing is simply a means to an end. It is a way by which we get something more valuable. By contrast, a liberal or noble thing is not a means but an end. It is intrinsically valuable, meaning that it is not utilized to gain something of greater value. As such, it is enjoyed for its inherent worth.
Utility and liberality also apply to the activities that we do. We do useful things like going to work. Work is a means for us to get compensated. The money we receive we use to buy food, which we, in turn, eat in order for us to live biologically. Notice that the useful activities that we engage in all lead to something else. Each one leads to what Adler describes as an extrinsic reward. The benefit comes as a result of doing something. At the very end of this chain of usefulness are activities that do not lead to something else. These activities reward intrinsically as the benefits come with doing them and not after. These terminal activities, done for their own sakes, are noble, liberal or free because they are not tied to practical necessity. They are done simply for the enjoyment they bring. And a person is happy when engaging in them. These intrinsically enjoyable activities fall under what is called leisure.
Contrary to current assumptions, rest and relaxation is not a form of leisure. R&r, amusement to Aristotle, is useful and not liberal. It works like medicine, Aristotle says, and should be treated as such. Medicine ought not to be taken for its own sake. It is only consumed when necessary, i.e. to cure a malady. Relaxation is medication for the ailment called fatigue caused by work. People relax to re-charge in order to work again. They work so that in the end they can enjoy leisure. The problem is that many people in this pragmatic world lose sight of this end and wind up idolizing r&r or play. The "work hard, play hard" mentality is a result of this error. It is dangerous because it begins a vicious cycle of rest and work that eventually degenerates into boredom and absurdity. It also turns into an addiction for an impermanent high which escalates into a quest for more temporary, escapist pleasures that ultimately lead to burn-out. It is a downward spiral with no self-improvement occurring in the individual.
By contrast, leisure is not an elixir that cures fatigue. On the contrary, it may even cause fatigue. Think, for example, of a book lover reading War and Peace. Reading this very thick book is mentally exhausting and is strenuous to the eyes. But this does not stop the reader form reading. After resting he proceeds to read again. Why does he do this? It is certainly not relaxing and not everybody gets paid for reading a novel. He does this not for any extrinsic reward but for the sheer joy of reading.
Leisure is not compulsory like r&r. Leisure is freely engaged in. A person chooses to do a leisurely activity and makes time for it. Also, a man at leisure enjoys himself while at leisure and not after. A man listening to his favorite song enjoys while listening and not after the last note dissolves into oblivion.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, leisure improves the person engaging in it. Reading sharpens reading skills and adds to the knowledge of the person. It develops the human faculties, enlarges the mind and is much prized for it improves the soul. Leisure's reward is intrinsic and secure in the person engaging in it.
How do these things apply to the activity of watching movies? The answer will come in part 3.
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