Inquiry into the Philosophical Concept of Scholê

Though the ancient Greek philosophical concept of <i>scholê </i>is usually translated as 'leisure' there is a vast difference between the two. Leisure derived from Latin <i>licere</i> <i> </i>has its roots in Roman <i>otium </i>and connotes the uses of free time in ways permitted by the status quo. <i>Scholê</i> is the actualization of mind and one's humanity within a republic that devotes its culture to making such a choice possible. This volume traces the background in Greek culture and the writings of Plato of a daring proposal presented by Aristotle that <i>scholê</i> is a principle for political organization. <br/><br/>The concept of <i>scholê </i>by and large did not survive Aristotle. To sharpen our understanding of <i>scholê </i>the book goes on to identify the concepts of leisure which we have inherited from the intellectuals of the Hellenistic and Roman empires and the early Church Fathers. <i>Scholê </i>also had its contrary <i>ascholia</i> - busyness - which Plato described as a social and psychological pathology and his analysis suggests why due to these ills current visions of a leisure society are highly unlikely.