{"id":6735,"date":"2025-05-12T20:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T18:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/berlinrealities.com\/?page_id=6735"},"modified":"2025-08-26T16:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T14:24:33","slug":"09-arbeit-ist-das-halbe-leben","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/berlinrealities.com\/en\/denksyndikat\/09-arbeit-ist-das-halbe-leben\/","title":{"rendered":"09 Work is half of life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \n \"denksyndikattitlegreen\" <\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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09
Work is half of life \u2013 but which half?<\/h1> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \"arbeit-ist-das-halbe-leben-aber-welche-haelfte\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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Philosophers from antiquity to the present day have studied work.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"aristoteles-muse\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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Aristotle<\/strong> saw leisure as a prerequisite for a good life \u2013 not work<\/h2>\n

For Aristotle, leisure<\/strong> (Greek: school<\/em>) not<\/strong> Laziness or doing nothing \u2013 but the Time for what matters<\/strong>: for philosophy, politics, art, friendship, contemplation.<\/p>\n

So for everything that allows man to good life<\/em> to lead a life according to his rational nature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Work \u2013 especially physical or \u201cnecessary\u201d work \u2013 was for him not an end in itself<\/strong>, but a means to free oneself from necessities and gain time for the actual human activities. This included theoria<\/strong> (contemplation), i.e. the contemplative activity of the mind.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Luther revolutionized thinking about work with the idea of Professional<\/strong> (Profession = vocation)<\/h2>\n

In the Middle Ages, work was often viewed as something lowly, reserved for the "common people." Monks, nobles, and philosophers were considered "above" the necessity of physical labor. Leisure and prayer were considered the higher activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod is in the kitchen with the maid just as he is in the monastery with the monks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this way, secular work is sanctified \u2013 and for the first time understood as part of a religious and moral way of life.<\/p>\n

This Lutheran view later shaped the Protestant work ethic (Max Weber).<\/p>\n

Work is no longer seen as a necessity, but as a moral duty \u2013 and as a path to self-realization before God.<\/p>\n

Laziness is no longer just inefficient, but sinful.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In Calvinism and early capitalism, hard work and professional success are seen as signs of divine election.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Work becomes a virtue. Leisure = suspect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \"karl-marx-mcdonalds\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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Marx<\/strong> dreamed of a world in which work is no longer a compulsion.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Work is ambiguous:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2013 as self-realization<\/p>\n

\u2013 as alienation in capitalism<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \"hannah-ahrendt-gameboy\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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Hannah Arendt<\/strong>, distinguishes between Vita activa<\/em> (1958) between:<\/p>\n