Thursday, October 06, 2011
Leisure and Education
Our word "school" comes from the Greek word "sxole" (pronounced sko-lay) which means "leisure" for in order to study one must have some leisure time. Aristotle observes on page 1 of the "Metaphysics" that philosophy did not begin until Egypt had produced a leisure class of priests. Obviously if one is a hunter/gatherer and must spend 16 hours a day search for food, or perhaps if one is an agricultural worker and must spend 16 hours a day behind a plow or baling hay, then there is no time or energy left for study or learning. People thought Thomas Jefferson was strange to build libraries and colleges since at that time education was only for the privileged wealthy and a farmer or blacksmith had no need for anything beyond perhaps 8th grade reading, writing and 'rithmetic. But Jefferson realized that there could not be a nation "of the people and by the people" UNLESS all people were literate and informed, even farmers and blacksmiths.
