Student Colloquium: "Josef Pieper and the Good Life"

Offered to all Con. Studies Minors

 

Josef Pieper and the Good Life (February 21-22)

Discussion leader: Zane Mabry

 

Why do I feel so restless? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself this question before. Or maybe you feel that whenever you do have time to rest, you end up wasting much of that time--or for some other reason it just isn’t that restful. Relatedly, have you ever wondered, “What does it mean to live a good, fulfilling life? And how do I do it?” If any of these questions strike a chord with you, this colloquium on the thought of the 20th century philosopher Josef Pieper may be of interest.

In the first two sessions of the colloquium, we will explore Pieper’s most famous work, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. We will here discuss the ideas surrounding Pieper’s claim that leisure is essential to a fulfilling human life. Our third session will delve into Pieper’s other essentials for a good life, namely the virtue of love and the ability to celebrate a festival--the latter being what true leisure actually exists for. In the fourth and final session, we will wrestle with Pieper’s essay Abuse of Language–Abuse of Power, discussing the properties of language and how its misuse degrades the communal experience of reality. We hope you can walk away from this colloquium with ideas, both theoretical and practical, that you can apply to your search for fulfillment in life.