Leisure, by W. H. Davies. History of Work Ethic. Home Page Historical Context of the Work Ethic Roger B. Hill, Ph.D. From a historical perspective, the cultural norm placing a positive moral value on doing a good job because work has intrinsic value for its own sake was a relatively recent development (Lipset, 1990). Work, for much of the ancient history of the human race, has been hard and degrading. Previous Section Attitudes Toward Work During the Classical Period One of the significant influences on the culture of the western world has been the Judeo-Christian belief system.
Traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs state that sometime after the dawn of creation, man was placed in the Garden of Eden "to work it and take care of it" (NIV, 1973, Genesis 2:15). The Greeks, like the Hebrews, also regarded work as a curse (Maywood, 1982). Mental labor was also considered to be work and was denounced by the Greeks. Previous Section Attitudes Toward Work During the Medieval Period Previous Section Protestantism and the Protestant Ethic.
In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell. Featured Book Excerpt In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell Like most of my generation, I was brought up on the saying: 'Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do.' Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached. Everyone knows the story of the traveller in Naples who saw twelve beggars lying in the sun (it was before the days of Mussolini), and offered a lira to the laziest of them. Before advancing my own arguments for laziness, I must dispose of one which I cannot accept.
All this is only preliminary. First of all: what is work? Quitting the Paint Factory by Mark Slouka.