A good use of time
On leisure time, Socrates, and a character flaw that ought to disqualify anyone from telling others what to do
Never before has more time been afforded for the contemplation of a rich inner life than what is available now to the mainstream American.
■ Compared with previous generations, we spend less time sick, less time doing oppressive chores, more time at leisure, more time educated and informed, and simply more time alive than at any time in history. It isn't even a close contest.
■ All of this should leave the average individual better-poised to appreciate the majesty and wonder of existence itself, better than anyone at least since the philosophers of ancient Greece.
■ Of course, that the time is available does not mean that all are interested in the pursuit. That is a part of freedom. Nobody is forced to examine life like Socrates.
■ But there is certain danger in ceding power, whether in the form of time or money or political influence, to anyone who declines to engage in that sort of contemplation. And there are many, who either wield power or who want to get it, for whom there is nothing important except that power in the here and now.
■ Just as the person conducting a meeting owes it to the other attendees to spend time and effort optimizing the quality of the time spent in the meeting, so too does anyone with power owe it to their subordinates to put real energy and consideration into questions of meaning and purpose.
■ This applies in the workplace, the clubhouse, the church, and the halls of elected power. If you aspire to make decisions for others, then you owe it to them to at least have some due consideration for what makes those decisions right or wrong.
■ A person without a well-considered inner life is still a person, of course, and entitled to all of the dignity that entails. But if it's obvious that a person never invests any time or effort into really struggling with big questions, then that person is unsuited to telling others where to go and what to do.
