On the Cathedral Effect and leisure
The Weekly Wrap Up (1/1/2021)
Welcome to my first newsletter! This is intended for close friends and family, but you’re welcome to share articles with your network if you like.
Each week, I’m going to be sharing some things I’ve learned from stuff I’ve read. Topics may range from philosophy to sports and anywhere in between.
The Cathedral Effect
The Cathedral Effect refers to how people tend to think more creatively in spaces with higher ceilings. Is there data to back this up? Sure.
Studies suggest that the Cathedral Effect results from how spaciousness (e.g. high ceilings) is intrinsically linked to concepts of freedom and creativity.
Numbers and studies aside though, the Cathedral Effect is one of those self-evident truths for me. When I write, read, or pray, I definitely do so best in more spacious settings.
Leisure
I recently wrapped up Leisure, The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper, and it was a pretty fascinating read. In his book, Pieper talks about how nearly every aspect of our life revolves around work.
For example, Pieper points out that the word school is derived from the ancient Greek word skole, which means…
Education? No.
Learning? No.
In ancient Greek, skole means leisure.
To the ancient Greeks, skole was about learning, philosophizing, and being leisurely. Over 2000 years later, school is synonymous with careers, internships, and answering “What do you want to be when you grow up?” questions. The invasion of work culture into the concept of learning is just one of many examples of how work has dominated our livelihoods.
Pieper also does a good job of demonstrating the importance of leisure in both the Classical and Christian strains of Western thought. Here are some quotes he pulls up.
“Be still and know that I am God” - Psalm 46:10
“But the gods, taking pity on mankind, born to work, laid down the succession of recurring Feasts to restore them from their fatigue and gave them the Muses, and Apollo their leader, and Dionysus, as companions in their Feasts, so that nourishing themselves in festive companionship with the gods, they should again stand upright and erect” - Plato
Since reading Pieper’s book, I’ve done my best to set aside large chunks of time for leisurely reflection.
I can talk on and on about this Pieper’s book, but I’ll stop here. Thanks for reading, and see you next week.
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Great work, AJ!
that was truly interesting, and i like that it's concise!