Leisure, "used as an all-inclusive term to describe the meaning, conditions, functions, and opportunity complex in which recreation / play occurs" (Murphy, p. 22), and can thus be seen as a concept or study which only offers information about how people spend their free time, but is also actually a lot more interesting and multifaceted. An interesting fact is that the term leisure "comes from the Latin word licere or 'to be allowed to abstain from occupation or service'" (Murphy, p. 24), thus exhibiting the origins of leisure; being clear of the physical and forced activities like labour. In such a paper I'll attempt to examine what precisely leisure entails and exactly how it can be linked to id creation, as well as depicting the innovations in leisure as an idea throughout history. In order to do so, I'll touch upon three remarkable cycles of days gone by; first of all Ancient Greece as the age of the great philosophers, then your period around 1900 in Western Europe, and finally I am going to research the importance of leisure in the current globalising world. Finally, to go over the relationship between leisure and personal information formation, I will incorporate the next topics within each historical time frame;
The theory and 'department/availability' of leisure
The relationship between work and leisure
The hyperlink between leisure and individuals development
The social distinctions between individuals and groups of individuals
After having talked about each time period in detail and having thus designed a general timeline of leisure, I am going to gather with a summary hoping to have then found answers to the questions encircling the notion of leisure.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece, which is normally considered as the time from "the Archaic amount of the 8th to 6th generations BCE to 146 BCE and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Fight of Corinth" (Amazines), can be seen as the era of the great philosophers who we still identify today. Not only this is what makes Ancient Greece so exciting, but this is also the time in which leisure as a concept emerged, with the "cultivation of the self interpretation produced by Aristotle (384 B. C. - 322 B. C. )" (Murphy, p. 23). During these days, leisure was seen as a task used to get the reality, and the understanding of the self. Contemplation was key, and it was considered a concept to be free, and of not being occupied with work or other commitments. But which exact activities do leisure entail then? I assume that Anderson sets it properly, though from the Greco-Roman point of view; "They discovered music and enjoyed it and relished the physical arts of war and sport. These were skilled in intellectual dialogue, and that used much time. But they rarely had an interest in discussing handwork and regular labour or even cared to comprehend its meaning. Within their way of life there was no rush" (Anderson, p. 91). Thus, leisure was at the root of society and its culture, and paved the way for most great philosophers through intellectual conversations.
But for leisure to are present in the way it have in Ancient Greece as enough time free from commitments or work, a distinction needed to be made between individuals. This distinction was mainly to permit certain visitors to engage in leisure, while some were forced to activate in the opposite of leisure; labour and effort. Or as Murphy sets it; "the aristocratic quality of the Old democracy offered the leisure category a traditions of flavour and elegance that was managed by the nobility" (Murphy, p. 24), as a result leisure was permitted for the privileged because slavery existed. The privileged used slavery in an effort to express electric power and control, maybe even only for the sake of being in charge over others. But "dominating and bossing others around, are one of the primary activities that humans, newly empowered, discovered and enjoyed for his or her own sakes" (Hunnicutt, p. 60), exhibiting that leisure not only been around off contemplation and dialogue, but also of horrid activities setting up a division between groups of people. Still, "definitely servants and women held in whatever degree of bondage, could actually understand the difference between the times in their lives when service was required of them, and other times when they were absolve to do more of what they wished" (Hunnicutt, p. 60). So, although leisure is principally seen as a privilege for the bigger classes of men, also the women and slaves experienced leisure to some extent. This shows that the option of leisure differed depending on your course of gender, but that a lot of likely every person experienced it for some extend in Old Greece.
Therefore, leisure should be observed as key to human being development. Not only achieved it pave just how for great philosophers and religious men, others also used it in connection to their identity as it is part of human being dynamics. For the Greeks, leisure was used as a "cultural area in which vital questions of real human means and ends, of purpose and hence of meaning, have been tackled" (Hunnicutt, p. 58), and thus gave room to answer significant questions regarding life and human-beings since "man is a symbolizing, conceptualizing, meaning-seeking creature" (Geertz, p. 140). Leisure could be seen as a way to understand the meaning of life, and come to learn and develop the home. Leisure thus led to personality and self-development through personal growth and freedom, since "the hallmark of an informed person was productive leisure" (Hunnicutt, p. 64).
Industrial Revolution
After the Ancient Greece timeframe as recently mentioned, "the leisure custom established by the Greeks continuing through the Middle Age range. The Liberal Arts educated in the colleges, the understanding of work and leisure as means to ends, endured" (Hunnicutt, p. 67). And when the Industrial Trend was ongoing in Europe, leisure was still present but significant changes were slowly but surely occurring in its identity and the effect it held in lifestyle. Maybe it's said that a revolution in human history and leisure took place when capitalism transformed the role of work, as "one does not work to have, one lives to work" (Pieper, p. 40). Then, work became a religious result in itself and was considered to answer the questions vis- -vis leisure. In addition, it started to undertake a submissive role as it was used in an effort to achieve and support the best purpose; work. Consequently, "work emerged from the nineteenth hundred years both as the basis of modern culture and since the glue that organised societies jointly" (Hunnicutt, p. 69), and basically took over the role leisure placed in Old times.
But even though work was key, the concept of spare time, and therefore leisure, changed over time after the Industrial Revolution had left its tag. For instance, farmers and factory-workers proved helpful six ten-hours days and nights from sunrise to sunset, and it had not been until "the sixty-hour work week of 1900 shrank to thirty-nine time by 1975" (Rosenthal, p. 11), that people possessed more leisure time to invest on leisure activities of one's own choice. Despite the fact that they still had to work hard the task ethic gradually changed, people now possessed every day, and later even two, where they were absolve to choose how to proceed. It was no longer the expert who possessed leisure time and told his slaves how to proceed, the whole day, every day. Additional money was now being made, and so being spend during those few time or days the workers possessed off and activities related to sport, education, self-development, and entertainment started to surge. Also, the option of more and cheaper goods because of the revolution resulted in a rise in the standard of living, and so formation of personal information. People were slightly and slowly more in a position to build themselves as different from others, also to use goods to identify with.
Finally, "it was only in the nineteenth hundred years that the real impact of vapor would be totally felt" (Robinson, B). Vapor changed the availability of opportunities, as well as leisure. Work was performed faster and more efficient, and changes also took place geographically as factories could now be located anywhere, as well as the staff. Transportation increased because of the technology of railways, and therefore leisure opportunities surfaced since people could travel further and were no longer limited to the area they proved helpful and lived in; horizons little by little widened.
The Old Greeks were able to see leisure as their 'work', however the workers from the Industrial Revolution could only participate in leisure and 'non-work behaviour' after their long days of labour. Not merely this content and value of leisure transformed, but also the impact it had on the individual. Because the Industrial Revolution, "Americans have inherited. . . a sociopsychological attitude which equates specific self-worth and efficiency with working" (Murphy, p. 27), thus displaying the impact work possessed on life and ones goals. The Trend "created further involvement in the average person in society and the duties of population to them, alongside the realization that the best power within modern culture is in the hands of these that are governed rather than the governing classes" (Ouedraogo, D). The working class, and thereby the individual and his hobbies became more important, and folks had more selections related to id formation as mentioned before.
Today's globalizing world
The changes that occurred in leisure in Ancient Greece and around the 1900s show its roots, but also the rudiments which have made leisure to be what it is today. Today, the twenty-first century, leisure still occupies an important devote many areas of people's lives and is still seen as "time free from work-related responsibilities" (Murphy, p. 27), as well as obligatory household tasks. More and more activities are now acceptable kinds of leisure, and additional money and time is dedicated to them. Also, anticipated to globalization much more is possible, since the world is helped bring nearer to our home. We've internet, television, mass media and facilitation of traveling; anything is possible. Too see what function leisure holds in today's modern culture in relation to identification and development, I'll consider it from the next perspectives; behavioural, mental and public.
Behaviour in leisure should be "named a manifestation of the individual's total self applied; cognitive, affective, and motor unit domains are probably involved" (Murphy, p. 29). Thus, participating in leisure is paramount to personal development since it details after many important aspects of the average person. Also, since behaviour is goal-directed, leisure can even be seen as "as direct consequence of goal-seeking" (Murphy, p. 29), and success or failing in such activities will firmly effect one's mental and physical condition, as well as future participation. Also, in line with the French sociologist Joffre Dumazedier, "leisure fulfils three functions: leisure, entertainment, and personal development" (Murphy, p. 30), again displaying that leisure is paramount to self-development through performing exercises one's capacities.
From the second and psychological perspective, leisure is also important for self-improvement, as "to leisure methods to be oneself, expressing one's skills, one's capacities, one's potentials" (Murphy, p. 30), as mentioned by Neulinger. Leisure is circumstances of mind and being, since it is then that certain is free to choose what to do and take part in what brings satisfaction, fulfilment and pleasure. Thus, from the psychological perspective, it could "have a tendency to analyze leisure activities according to the needs they please" (Murphy, p. 31), which can only be satisfied during leisure time rather than through accomplishment in work like through the Industrial Trend was the circumstance. Cases are "needs for sex, freedom, understanding, getting along with others" (Murphy, p. 32).
The third point of view is that the social function of leisure, as the "most significant determinant of what one will in leisure is membership in a interpersonal group. Leisure is a way for building and sustaining intragroup solidarity" (Murphy, p. 32). Camaraderie and kinship are crucial determents here, and owned by a social group with common pursuits is what individuals target at through leisure. This is seen when people take part in sports, theater, crafts, or other night clubs arranged to bring those alongside one another who are similarly. This can be through figuring out with others with similar education, profession, contest, or income; a few of the socioeconomic-demographic indications.
What also performs an important role in leisure, is the newfound presence of preference in this globalizing world. Very much exists and available when it comes to activities, resources, knowledge and goods that choice greatly penetrates our culture; they have "transformed not only how we live but also how exactly we think and who we have been" (Rosenthal, p. 1), through the occurrence of unnecessary choice. We no more have to give something up in order to gain another thing, we is now able to sometimes "have our cake and eat it too" (Rosenthal, p. 9) and now sacrifice les which made our desires become needs. We've embraced change, and the "necessity to visit down all of life's branches is real to us" (Rosenthal, p. 9). Since we've extreme choice, our leisure is becoming so broad and available to our own choices that we can maximize our very own potentials through it. Also, since "one hour's work purchases six times all the now as it did in 1900" (Rosenthal, p. 12) we can spend a lot more on leisure, and so again have to choose less and have more.
Today, we also develop ourselves through 'serious leisure', which is the degree of seriousness tied to an activity as "the activity involvement of these devotes shows a degree of intensity that is steady with stream experience and a habits of dedication that joins them with others in a distinctive ethos of shared meaning and perseverance" (Kleiber, p. 25). Leisure activities of this level can appear to work in a few degree, but are free from choice and are therefore resources of "self-esteem, self-actualization, and other internal and social benefits" (Kleiber, p. 25), demonstrating the great link between serious leisure and development. Also, since leisure in today's globalizing world is less associated with gender and contest and increasingly more available to everybody, it could be regarded as a true sources for self-development and identity formation.
Identity creation then occurs not only through serious leisure, but also through more general and simplified variations of leisure. For instance, athletics perform activities as their work. For most, participating in sport is a kind of leisure that brings pleasure and self-improvement, but for a true sportsman this is his personality. He's a footballer, he's a rugby player, he is a dancer. Wherever he'll go, this part of him will be at the origins of his other actions since he is so serious about it and cannot afford letting other styles of leisure take away from what he has achieved; their "identification and dedication is noticeable in joining categories and sacrificing other areas of life" (Kleiber, p. 25). This is actually the same for musicians, many band members identify with their job and consider the musician label to be indistinguishable using their identity.
Conclusion
Leisure can thus truly be seen as a source of self-development and individuality formation. Even though leisure has gradually altered throughout the years and has even shown different characteristics during when you compare the timeframes, the central has remained the same; free time dedicated activities of your respective own choice used to raised the personal.
To conclude, most noteworthy is the part leisure took up in an individual's life. In Ancient Greece, leisure mainly offered as an activity that took up the complete day for the elite, whereas for the slaves it consisted of the little time free from the purchases of the grasp. It had been mainly used to activate in intellectual discussions, and plain pursuits like sports. Through the Industrial Revolution this outlook transformed, and work became most important and overran the role leisure used to hold in the lives of the top notch; self-improvement was achieved through work and not leisure. However, this is also the period when the staff started to protest and were able to receive a better work-week with an increase of leisure time in the weekend; time absolve to be dedicated to leisure since money was also more available. Finally, in the current society leisure takes up an maybe even more important role and continues to be the time focused on activities free from choice used to build up the self. Thus, leisure has always played out an important role and its nature has continued to be constant, while its use and supply has changed.
