Thoreau’sleisuretolearnwisdom

HuangFeiyu

【Abstract】As a pare-ecological ecologist， Thoreaus philosophy has profound philosophical significance of leisure. Under the influence of transcendentalism， pastoral philosophy and classical wisdom， Thoreau formed a unique concept of relaxation and put it into practice. His wisdom in leisure studies is of great significance and guiding value for solving the current dilemma in leisure studies.

【Key words】Thoreau； Walden； recreation； leisure； wisdom

【作者簡介】黄飞瑜（1991- ），女，汉族，福建泉州人，江苏师范大学哲学与公共管理学院，哲学研究生，研究领域为生态哲学、美国生态批评、环境伦理、电影哲学等。

【基金项目】江苏省研究生科研与实践创新计划项目（2017YXZ197）。

1. Introduction

Leisure Studies is a discipline that studies human phenomena and reveals the general rules of leisure activities. In different historic times， human beings have different life forms： in the primitive period， mans working time accounted for 33% and leisure time was 16%； when entering agricultural society， mans working time accounted for 28% and leisure time was 22.9%； In industrialized society， the working hours of the people have been reduced to 10.4% and their leisure time has reached 38.4%. The difference between people is idle. Marx once said： “The measure of the value of wealth will change from working hours to free time， because increasing free time increases the opportunities for the full development of individuals.” Historically， people who made significant contributions and inventions， Are good at using leisure time. Therefore， the rational use of leisure time is crucial to the growth and success of a person， and it is also of great benefit to enhancing the quality of life of an individual.

2. Solos leisure concept

2.1 Free labor and alienated labor

From the perspective of the history of the development of Western thought， the concept of “alienation” has undergone a process of evolving from a theological concept to a philosophical one. The concept of “alienation” can be traced back to Platos “ideal nation” in ancient Greece. Alienation at this time that opposition， alienation， deviation. On the basis of his predecessors， Marx inherited and surpassed his predecessors in this theory in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.

In contrast， Thoreau advocates modest free labor. He spends six weeks a year earning his life and maintaining basic needs. Other leisure time for reading， observation， walking， writing and so on. To some extent， he was able to become a naturalist and create “The Green Bible” “Walden” thanks to his leisure life.

2.2 Active leisure and negative leisure

“Hugh” in the “Kanga Dictionary” and “Chai” interpreted as Jibing， joy， goodness， luck. Relieving relationship between human and natural in chines traditional culture “Free” through “Xian”， said demure， pure and peaceful thought， reflect the dialectical relationship between work and rest.

In “Walden”， the spicy record of Concord residents “did not have time to do other than make a machine.” Thoreau focused on leisure primarily because： on the one hand， The impact that alienated labor brings to people is， on the one hand， the recognition and understanding of the value of active leisure. Labor is to get the necessities of life， to meet the needs of life， but leisure can develop themselves， to experience， think about life， sentiment value and so on.

3. Solos leisure practice

The never-ending desire of mankind forces people to pursue happiness in the world and indulge in the happiness in reality. Hedonism， materialism， economic， utilitarianism have become the basic values of society. There is no doubt that human beings have basic needs for survival and physical needs. However， with the development of society and the enrichment of material wealth， peoples desire is constantly expanding. As Marx put it， “The progress of capitalist production has created a hedonism world.” The drive of desire turns people into inhuman， alienated， and leisurely.

4. Conclusion

In “The Theory of Surplus Value，” Marx pointed out： “The time that can be freely controlled is the real wealth， which is not absorbed by the direct production of labor， but is used for recreation and rest to open up a vast world for free movement and development.”Leisure is of great significance to social progress， economic development and the all-round development of people. Engels pointed out： “The use of leisure time is an extremely advanced law.” Therefore， only by changing their original concepts and accepting leisure education， modern people can pursue higher spiritual life on the basis of their basic needs.

References：

[1]陳来成.休闲学[M].广州：中山大学出版社，2009.