Tag: work

• December 31, 2014

  Two boo’s for ‘living in order to work’

  I Call me puzzled. I can’t help but recall a wealthy man I used to tutor while I was living in New York City. He was an heir to a famous American dynasty and was doubtless so wealthy that none of his grandchildren would ever need to work. Despite this, he worked very long hours, founding and co-founding companies,…
• July 22, 2014

  Our 2 conceptions of work: work as toil vs. work as performance

  Yesterday, I wrote about the three ways of making a living, and I still have many implications to spell out. Today, I set this subject off to the side and turn to a related topic, this being our conceptions of work. I believe that there are only two conceptions that vie and belie each other, that each…
• January 4, 2014

  Love, friendship, and work

  In Sources of the Self, the philosopher Charles Taylor argues that what is distinctive about the modern world is that many of us have come to regard the claims of ordinary life as being ultimately fulfilling. Someone’s falling in love, raising a family, maintaing a close-knit group of friends, and doing meaningful work would, on this…
• July 24, 2013

  On doing lots of things and doing them well

  The chief problem with thinking of work in terms of a career is that one gets in the habit of thinking that one can only do one thing well. But then at some point one gets stuck because that sort of thing is no longer desirable or because one can no longer stomach the idea…
• May 17, 2012

  Tree cutting

  Socrates’ greatness was to be able to play with children, and to consider that his time was thus well spent…. Socrates lives a human life simply and humbly. –Pierre Hadot, The Present Alone * Yesterday I bought bananas for Joan. She said she had plenty. Now I have four bananas to eat. The rain from the…