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his disappointment in much of what he considers to be misinterpretation of the
general Classical foundation in the field of Leisure Studies in particular
referencing Sabastian deGrazia’s canonical Time, Work, and Leisure (1964), the
scholar says that two basic misunderstandings tend to exist in today’s academic
literature.
Hemingway claimed that because leisure scholars often fail to explore the
original source material, they are likely to make one or both of two important
mistakes. For Hemingway, careless readers may conclude that (a) “freedom
from the necessity of labor for daily bread makes of leisure a strictly patrician or
aristocratic privilege” (p. 180) and (b) that leisure thus necessarily becomes a
“largely contemplative state arising from this freedom” (Hemingway, 1988, p.
180). If statement one is not accurate, as Hemingway says, statement two, bound
as it is to the first, is not likely to be accurate. Importantly, for Hemingway and
others, I think, who read these texts carefully the Greek philosopher’s counsel,
as does Josef Pieper (1952), active intellectual productivity: leisure is not a void
state which seeks filling. Human life is, from this perspective, opportunity
pressing for expression.
Perhaps a decade ago, while interviewing a group of sport hunters, it
occurred to me that there was no pressing need to “hunt” for food. Nor, by any
stretch, was legitimate effort made to maximize success of their harvest—
though planned failure wasn’t usually a feature, either. What these individuals
“secured” by their choices was occasional game, but routine opportunity for
contemplation (separated from practical reason, reflecting on the metaphysical)
in a quiet, tranquil, setting.
Buddhists call a path of thoughtful moderation the middle way. This active
avoidance of the extremes of self-indulgence is a middle path between polarities
and certainly reminds some readers of the Aristotelian notion of virtues which
equate generally with happiness: in the sense of being all you could be by
calmly applying yourself to identified areas of interest. Aristotle meant by virtue
the act of achieving balance and m