The Relevance of Philosophy in Recreation and Leisure Studies

1. chapter3 Philosophy and Leisure Donald J. McLean

2. Relevance of Philosophy to Recreation and Leisure Studies • Philosophy helps us to more clearly understand our leisure values, improving our abilities as leisure service providers. • Philosophy helps us to be better leisure services providers by giving us a method for solving the practical ethical dilemmas that all leisure providers face during their careers.

3. Why Does Philosophy Matter? • Creates a grounding in philosophical reasoning to help people become ethical service providers. • Leisure service providers are likely to encounter many vexing ethical dilemmas during their careers. • Leisure service providers are often put in a position of trust when working with vulnerable populations. • Leisure service providers are expected to exercise a high degree of responsibility and provide healthful activities. • Organized leisure services is a serious undertaking that imposes significant ethical responsibilities on service providers.

4. Philosophy Helps Leisure Service Providers Solve Ethical Issues • Philosophizing can be used to clarify our leisure values. • It provides a method to resolve specific ethical dilemmas. These two functions of philosophic inquiry—values clarification and ethical dilemma solving—can complement each other.

5. Greek Philosophy Ancient Greek philosophers used their “powers of reasoning” to determine the best style of life. • Their goal was to develop systematic knowledge about how the behavior of both individuals and society could be optimized. • Greeks focused on questions of ethics (for optimizing the lifestyle of the individual) and politics (for optimizing the functioning of the state).

6. Plato and Aristotle • Their intellectual focus was to determine how people should live their lives. • Both recognized that knowledge about “how” people could optimize their lives was important. • They understood that knowledge of ethics had practical applications for instructing both individuals and societies on how they should behave. • Both believed that the proper development of an individual’s character traits was the key to living an optimal lifestyle.

7. Plato’s Theory of Leisure • Plato separated “good” leisure activities from “bad.” Only certain types of virtuous leisure were allowed, e.g., controlling storytelling and music. He was fearful of recreation that excited the emotions. • The legacy of Plato’s political philosophy is present in leisure services today: Recreational programming and activities should contribute to positive character development. • Plato’s belief was that leisure and recreation are important tools for influencing individuals and society.

8. Aristotle’s Philosophy of Leisure • Advocated the repression of women and slaves. They were not allowed the luxury of leisure. • Privilege was reserved for the male citizenry. • Leisured elite were expected to strive for self-perfection. • Living the ideal lifestyle required following habits of living that were virtuous and avoiding those filled with vices.

9. Aristotle and Happiness Aristotle believed that happiness results from being the best we can be. • The person who has the most rewarding lifestyle is the philosopher who is at leisure to develop his intellect to its highest capacity. • Human fulfillment results from achieving excellence from things we choose to do when we use our leisure correctly.

10. Aristotle and Freedom Freedom is a very important element of Aristotle’s concept of virtuous leisure. • We should seek freedom from material wants so that we can have time for leisure and not be enslaved by our work. • We should seek intellectual freedom to understand why virtuous leisure activities are good. • Freedom is the essential characteristic of any virtuous leisure activity.

11. Contemporary Philosophy of Leisure • It is difficult to think of excellence apart from working. • We value activities that can be made productive. • Modern society is very work oriented. • The ancient Greeks were work averse. Work was only a necessity of life. They valued work primarily as a means of obtaining leisure. • Modern lifestyles appear to have reversed that equation.

12. Weber’s Analysis of the Work Ethic • Weber created the construct of the “Protestant work ethic,” which refers to a cultural ideal that regards work as the most important activity in a person’s life. • New reverence for work arose from the Protestant Reformation. • It is work—not leisure—that makes life worth living, which culturally defines our conception of the good life.

13. Russell’s Critique of the Work Ethic • Preindustrial societies were based on a “slave morality.” • Modern technology created an abundance of goods so that everyone could have a leisured lifestyle. • However, leisure continued to be reserved for the upper crust in society and denied to the working class. • Proposed a work-sharing arrangement. By reducing work to 4 hours per day, people would still have the freedom to pursue cultural and intellectual interests.

14. Pieper’s Critique of the Work Ethic • We no longer know what leisure is; we live in a totally work-oriented culture. • Liberal arts disciplines such as philosophy are treated as a type of “intellectual labor,” only valued for their usefulness for solving practical problems. • Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is devalued by the culture of work. • Our leisure time is useful if it refreshes us so that we can resume our work with renewed vigor. • Our worship of work produces a meaningless, unsatisfying lifestyle. • We live to work well, rather than working so that we can live well.

15. Veblen’s Critique of Consumption • Veblen defined ostentatious displays of wealth as “conspicuous consumption.” He criticized the super rich of his era—the Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Rockefellers—as status seekers using wealth amassed from 19th century business empires to give themselves an air of nobility. • In a consumer culture success is measured by the luxurious and expensive goods we own, which increase our social status.

16. Other Critiques of Consumption • We must be highly productive to pay for it. • Our careers require us to put in long days at work, leaving us little time or energy for family and friends, thus restricting our leisure. • It encourages us to think of leisure as a basket of commodities from which we pick and choose. Instead of being participants of unique and personal recreation activities, we are consumers of leisure experiences designed and mass produced by others.

17. Commodification of Leisure • We tell employees that we value wellness. But what we are really worried about are rising absenteeism and medical expenses. • We take minivacations that cause the least disruption of our work schedules and take along our laptop computers, cell phones, and so on. • A commodified view of leisure is based on the implicit premise that our leisure activities are a means to achieving some other goal.

18. Robert Putnam: Bowling Alone • Americans are becoming increasingly socially isolated. • Membership in community organizations dropped dramatically at the end of the 20th century. • Americans have become less satisfied with their lives because they have experienced a decline in their social capital.

19. Solving Ethical Dilemmas in Leisure Services Socially responsible leisure service providers need to have a macro, or “big-picture,” understanding of the broad social and ethical issues that affect the quality of people’s leisure lives.

20. Tanning Bed Case: A Reflection At a multipurpose community recreation center, patrons have indicated that they would like the recreation center to install tanning beds. • The staff considers the possible negative health effects. • Patrons are dismayed and even outright hostile over the staff’s decision to reject the equipment suggestion. REFLECT on the scenario presented in the chapter. What are the ethical dilemmas? What is the plausible solution?

21. Ethical Analysis: Three Approaches • Consequence-based ethics: weighing the consequences • Duty-based ethics: evaluating the duties and obligations • Virtue-based ethics: consulting one’s conscience

22. Summary • Serious social and ethical issues arise as one helps people improve the quality of their lives. • Philosophy helps us understand and morally evaluate the larger social issues in which leisure service providers must operate. • Philosophical analysis helps solve the ethical dilemmas that we are sure to encounter as practicing professionals.