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On The Unseriousness Of Human Affairs: Teaching Writing Playing Believing
James V. Schall
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Description for On The Unseriousness Of Human Affairs: Teaching Writing Playing Believing
Paperback. Echoing philosophers such as Josef Pieper, this book explains how the modern world has inverted the rational order of human affairs, devaluing the activities of leisure and placing an exaggerated emphasis on utilitarian concerns. Num Pages: 189 pages. BIC Classification: HPCF. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 18. Weight in Grams: 369.
To the ears of ceaselessly busy and ambitious modern Westerners, it will come as a shock, and perhaps as an insult, to be told that human affairs are unserious. But this fundamental truth is exactly what James Schall, following Plato, has to teach us in this wise and witty book.
Schall cites Charlie Brown, Aristotle, and Samuel Johnson with the same sobrietythe sobriety that sees the truth in what is delightful and even amusing. Singing, dancing, playing, contemplating, and other useless human activities are not merely forms of escape from more important thingspolitics, work, social activism, etc.but an indication of the very nature of the highest things themselves.
On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs is an instructive volume whose countercultural message is of vital importance.
Schall cites Charlie Brown, Aristotle, and Samuel Johnson with the same sobrietythe sobriety that sees the truth in what is delightful and even amusing. Singing, dancing, playing, contemplating, and other useless human activities are not merely forms of escape from more important thingspolitics, work, social activism, etc.but an indication of the very nature of the highest things themselves.
On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs is an instructive volume whose countercultural message is of vital importance.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2012
Publisher
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Condition
New
Number of Pages
189
Place of Publication
, United States
ISBN
9781610170253
SKU
V9781610170253
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-15
About James V. Schall
James V. Schall, S.J., is a professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including The Regensburg Lecture, On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs, and A Student’s Guide to Liberal Learning, the last two of which are available from ISI Books. He writes regularly for a number of periodicals, including Gilbert! magazine, the Saint Austin Review, and the University Bookman.
Reviews for On The Unseriousness Of Human Affairs: Teaching Writing Playing Believing
Readers will not go wrong wasting the time it takes to cavort with the eternal truths presented, with such an enervating spirit of fun, in On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs. National Catholic Register It is a book lightly written, laced with references to Charlie Brown and other cartoons, but deceptively heavy. I found myself inclinedalmost forcedto pause after every section and think about Schalls words. Touchstone Schalls call to take seriously the unseriousness things of life is clearly, cleverly, and creatively stated. Perspectives on Political Science This new collection on what it is to be an educated human does not disappoint. New Oxford Review