On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs

On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs: Teaching, Writing, Playing, Believing, Lecturing, Philosophizing, Singing, Dancing by James V Schall, 167 pages

Fr Schall maintains, with his customary wit, that the supposedly "serious" parts of life - primarily business and politics - are far less important than the leisure that they make possible.  We pursue the former because they are useful, but (true) play, (true) education, and (true) prayer are activities we engage in out of love for themselves.  It is no surprise that Schall, having spent many decades as a teacher and student, focuses on education, presenting a vision of authentic education rooted in a desire to understand the nature of things.  Likewise play is considered as recreation rather than distraction, and the highest form of prayer is identified as contemplation.  When the importance of these leisurely pursuits is forgotten, he concludes, they become subordinated to the ends of money and power, and our academies and churches become corrupt.

In keeping with his theme, Schall is at his most playful when he is most subversive, teasing out the implications of what we already know to be true to reveal the emptiness of so much of our conventional thinking and living.  The result is equally delightful and devastating.