Thank you for the excellent piece. This part of Seneca’s book is truly spectacular and uplifting isn’t it? “ From no century are we barred; we’re admitted to all of them. … One can argue with Socrates, entertain doubts with Carneades, be at peace along with Epicurus, overcome human nature with the Stoics, surpass it with the Cynics.” Seneca is very approachable. He writes super well and eloquently, he has moments of doubt, he sometimes is contradictory in my opinion and i do sense at times that he feared dying and was exercising reframing to himself while writing to Lucilus. Great piece!
Thanks Marcelo, appreciated! Yes, Seneca writes beautifully and he comes across as genuinely conflicted and open minded. One of the best writers of antiquity.
Shouldn't the value of a hobby kinda depend though?
Stuff like collecting things tends to add little for anyone but the collector, not that that's a bad thing within limits. Less important isn't necessarily valueless.
But then what about the fields of entertainment/intellectual curiosity? Many athletes, artists, storytellers (any medium), musicians, and even certain sciences can arguably be considered hobbies that are simply expanded and shared with others to a point a sustainable living can be made off it, hence a way to spend more time on it. 1v1 sports (ex Tennis) don't really add anything but thrill, some music is just pleasant sounding, and for now there's not actually that much purpose in learning how a black hole works. This applies to both the producers and the audience, yet is there not value in creating or adding "spice" be it from professionals, amateurs, and hobbyists?
Going off this, what of hobbies that in and of itself don't necessarily add much, but can have a social side added to them? Collecting stamps doesn't do much, but if done with others, like a real life or online group, starting a blog/channel, or an interactive podcast, it's still ought not to be the most important thing in one's life, the other people are often friends of pleasure at best, but is the act of mutually helping others improve this spice not actually (to a lesser extent but still) valuable compared to the hobby being done alone? Discussing fictional stories/worlds be it in books, movies, TVs, video games (yes, we actually generally have that now, it's not just 100 different varieties of "Candy Crush" or "Pac-Man"), and some multi-part music series doesn't really affect real life, yet I don't think literary professors have wasted their time (unless of course it was the only thing they do) indulging and commenting on the world buildings (even the trivial parts) of mythology.
Willy, the point is that each of us should be asking themselves those very questions and evaluate how we spend our time and why. Yes, some hobbies and such have social value, though it may be limited. (Why socialize over stamp collecting rather than, say, volunteering to help the environment?) But we all have a finite life, and it’s sane, I think, to ask how we want to spend it. It is also an empirical finding of modern cognitive science that what we find meaningful is what involves and helps others. Finally, Seneca does say elsewhere that R&R is needed to keep physical and mental health. He wasn’t blind to that.
Just wanted to thank you for illuminating my days and making the ancient wisdom of philosophers, come to life with clarity and depth. The concept of philosophy as a "way-of-life" is made remarkably clear through your writings. You've given us a great gift.
Thank you for the excellent piece. This part of Seneca’s book is truly spectacular and uplifting isn’t it? “ From no century are we barred; we’re admitted to all of them. … One can argue with Socrates, entertain doubts with Carneades, be at peace along with Epicurus, overcome human nature with the Stoics, surpass it with the Cynics.” Seneca is very approachable. He writes super well and eloquently, he has moments of doubt, he sometimes is contradictory in my opinion and i do sense at times that he feared dying and was exercising reframing to himself while writing to Lucilus. Great piece!
Thanks Marcelo, appreciated! Yes, Seneca writes beautifully and he comes across as genuinely conflicted and open minded. One of the best writers of antiquity.
Thank you Professor for today’s lesson. Has great meaning for me.
Shouldn't the value of a hobby kinda depend though?
Stuff like collecting things tends to add little for anyone but the collector, not that that's a bad thing within limits. Less important isn't necessarily valueless.
But then what about the fields of entertainment/intellectual curiosity? Many athletes, artists, storytellers (any medium), musicians, and even certain sciences can arguably be considered hobbies that are simply expanded and shared with others to a point a sustainable living can be made off it, hence a way to spend more time on it. 1v1 sports (ex Tennis) don't really add anything but thrill, some music is just pleasant sounding, and for now there's not actually that much purpose in learning how a black hole works. This applies to both the producers and the audience, yet is there not value in creating or adding "spice" be it from professionals, amateurs, and hobbyists?
Going off this, what of hobbies that in and of itself don't necessarily add much, but can have a social side added to them? Collecting stamps doesn't do much, but if done with others, like a real life or online group, starting a blog/channel, or an interactive podcast, it's still ought not to be the most important thing in one's life, the other people are often friends of pleasure at best, but is the act of mutually helping others improve this spice not actually (to a lesser extent but still) valuable compared to the hobby being done alone? Discussing fictional stories/worlds be it in books, movies, TVs, video games (yes, we actually generally have that now, it's not just 100 different varieties of "Candy Crush" or "Pac-Man"), and some multi-part music series doesn't really affect real life, yet I don't think literary professors have wasted their time (unless of course it was the only thing they do) indulging and commenting on the world buildings (even the trivial parts) of mythology.
Willy, the point is that each of us should be asking themselves those very questions and evaluate how we spend our time and why. Yes, some hobbies and such have social value, though it may be limited. (Why socialize over stamp collecting rather than, say, volunteering to help the environment?) But we all have a finite life, and it’s sane, I think, to ask how we want to spend it. It is also an empirical finding of modern cognitive science that what we find meaningful is what involves and helps others. Finally, Seneca does say elsewhere that R&R is needed to keep physical and mental health. He wasn’t blind to that.
Just wanted to thank you for illuminating my days and making the ancient wisdom of philosophers, come to life with clarity and depth. The concept of philosophy as a "way-of-life" is made remarkably clear through your writings. You've given us a great gift.
Thanks Elaine, much appreciated!