Henry David Thoreau And Pieper

Hard work has gone unappreciated and avoided by society, as the toil associated with it are rather unpleasant. However, in avoiding hard work, society manages to avoid the many satisfactions that accompany it. In Home of the Free, Wendell Berry discusses how although he is a novelist, poet, and essayist, Berry’s greatest satisfaction comes from the labor he does on his farm. Berry states how society has moved past the struggles of physical labor to avoid labor’s uncomfortable difficulties; thus, society has rejected the unique satisfactions of labor that he finds fulfilling. I agree wholeheartedly with his interpretation that labor and its unique qualities can derive much satisfaction. I find the satisfactions of labor as the most fulfilling

Karl Marx had different views about the division of labor such as how it increases productivity. The way how it

What’s more, the author explained the transformation of the meaning in the term “workaholism” and poses the different working attitude between Americans and Europeans again (Clausen 121). The word “workaholism” seems like

Humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights” (Norton Anthology 931). This statement illustrates Thoreau’s propensity for simplicity. He had no appreciation for the finer material things in life. He even discussed the benefits of not accumulating clothes (Norton Anthology 931). This can be related to Emerson’s statement, “Genius is always sufficiently the enemy of genius by over-influence” (Norton Anthology 540). This perfectly sums up Thoreau’s basic life principles. Emerson is basically saying that too much is not a good thing. Over-influence can be compared to concepts such as over-indulgence, which is what Thoreau is arguing against. Someone can become too influenced by their material belongings and friends, rather than being influenced by their thoughts and non-material property. In addition, the idea of the word “genius” may be associated with intricacy or the unfathomable. In reality, genius can be incredibly simple. It does not have to coincide with this over the top stigma. Overall, Thoreau’s idea of simplicity directly aligns with Emerson’s idea of the barely influenced American scholar.

American entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, once said: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Some people may take a job out of necessity rather than being passionate about their work. You have to love what you do as you spend more time working than being with loved ones. In Studs Terkel’s Working, adapted by Harvey Pekar, the reader is presented with visual adaptations of the lives of ordinary Americans that show how they feel about what they do for a living ranging from farmers, miners, barbers, box boys, and a hooker are some of the jobs mentioned in the novels. The author gives the

Every Good Endeavor, by Timothy Keller, throughout chapters three and four, hit several important topics about the acts of work. Initially, Keller talks of culture and how it's a biblical principle to fill and subdue the earth we live in. Merely reproducing is not what defines culture, but the acts of work that bring civilization. The word itself, subdue, means a real assertion of will. Basically, placing work where able. God himself designed the word to need work, the fruit of work brings us riches and potential. Work also brings growth, not only for others but for ourselves. God sees work as to Him and to our neighbors. In terms, work is essentially an act of worship. God gives us all the resources we need to cultivate the earth. In example,

Many people in today’s society find themselves guilty of believing the common misconception that money can buy happiness. They go to school to become a doctor, lawyer, or other high paying job, with money and social status as their only incentives. Many will find that they have fallen into a trap, when they start earning their large salary, but still are not happy. While there were many messages present throughout Studs Terkels Working: a graphic adaptation, the most important reoccurring message seemed to be that having pride and dignity as well as working at a job that fulfills one’s life passion or is simply enjoyable are more important qualities than earning a large salary and having a high rank on the social ladder. The interaction of

Working is one of the Ten Commandments it "is not a burdensome command; it is an invitation to freedom" (40.). This being stated Josef Pieper, "a twentieth-century German Catholic philosopher,

In The Division of Labor in Society, there are four parts: the problem, the function, the causes, and the forms of the divisions of labor. In his work, he critiqued and analyzed these aspects in great detail. Thinking on society Durkheim came to realization that the forces of production and capital were leading the industries, businesses, and agriculture of the time towards a specialization of occupations (Nelson 2013a). He realized that this was not only present in the world of economics but also the judicial, administrative, aesthetic and even his world of philosophy as well which was leading to a state of moral conflict and antagonism. This lead to the second part of his work, the function, in which Durkheim believed, was not a moral rule since it

Labor for Marx reduces man to a means of production. As a means of production

Throughout the course of history, it is arguable there is nothing more indicative of civilization’s makeup, both intellectually and tangibly, than the role of labor and its perceived value. From the time of Aristotle to Martin Luther King Jr., great minds have theorized on the significance and implications of this idea in relation to the individual and the state. For this, the concept of dignity is essential to understand, as it provides a basis for how people and the work they do is judged by society. With this in mind, the question must be asked: how exactly is worth attached to an occupation, and what factors must be present for one to feel a sense of dignity in the work they do? While from the perspective of Dr.King there is “dignity in all work”, other scholars rebuttal that blind belief in such a motto prevents progress. With this in mind, it is clear that the nature of dignity and labor is subject to constant re-interpretation, as its impact on society and the individuals within it is largely dependent on the context of history, culture, and personal character.

In his discussions of capitalism in The German Ideology he frequently accuses existing social structures for alienating man from his production. “Each man has a particular, exclusive sphere of activity, which is forced upon him and from which he cannot escape” (Marx, Page 160) as a result of the division of labour in capitalist societies. This division of labour exists because there is higher priority placed in communal interest than individual interest. As such, there is an inequality here – communal interest is taken to be of greater importance than individual

is when the division of labour has been once thoroughly established, it is but a small part of a man’s want which the produce of his own labour can supply. He supplies the far greater part of them by exchanging that surplus part of the produce of his own labour, which is over and above his own consumption, for such parts of the produce of other’s men’s labour as he has occasion for. Every man thus lives by exchanging, or becomes in some measure a merchant, and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial society (Smith, 2003, p. 37).

The concept of labor directly corresponds with the condition of life. Outlining a biological process that is necessary for human existence, labor takes a circular character that creates no permanence as its efforts are consumed immediately, thus continuously renewed in order to maintain life. Hannah Arendt refers to this notion of human existence as animal laborans. As long as human beings are engaged in the activity of labor, there is no distinguishing between the members of mankind.

Work takes on greater importance in a society where people believe that they can master the material world and shape their own destinies, and less where they believe that they can not. An Ancient Greek philosopher said that the only stability in the world was within one's mind or soul, where ideas were secure from the unending changes that took place in the material world. In Ancient Greece, philosophers believed that a person's thoughts and ideas were more important than that person's work and that work in the material world lacked permanence. For the ancient Greeks, the status of particular occupations depended on the degree of freedom a person had, the perceived moral integrity of the occupation, and the amount of mental and physical work it required. Today we tend to feel that working in an office is better than working in a coal mine, regardless of which worker makes more money. Our language suggests that it is a privilege to work sitting down.