Only The Lover Sings

An Introduction and Study Guide

Josef Pieper is, for my money, one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. His ability to treat grand matters with simplicity and brevity is one thing that sets him apart amongst a class of intellectuals that tend to struggle equally with both. Too many philosophers have struggled with their own egos, loving their own thoughts more than the thing which they are supposed to be thinking about. Many others, even among those who are more sincere in their quest for understanding, nevertheless fail to communicate in a way that is accessible and succinct. Pieper, on the other hand, always comes across as a true lover of wisdom who is more fond of the subject of his inquiry than his own thoughts on the matter. Sometimes his words are full of piercing clarity, sometimes they have a kind of depth which feels as thick as blood, but never is any of it extraneous or flashy or meant as mere flourish. Piepers’ philosophy exudes humility.

This humility can be seen clearly in the following quote:

“Anybody can ponder human deeds and happenings and thus gaze into the unfathomable depths of destiny and history; anybody can get absorbed in the contemplation of a rose or human face and thus touch the mystery of creation; everybody, therefore, participates in the quest that has stirred the minds of the great philosophers since the beginning.”

Pieper is not a gatekeeper, not an ivory tower intellectual who lords himself over the plebes, the common or lowly of society, rather he joyfully invites every man, woman, and child to wonder alongside him about all of the things which have always tugged at the hearts of those who were willing to simply take the time to stop, look, listen, and contemplate in submission to reality.

Indeed this submission to the real is a constant theme in the works of Josef Pieper. He writes “whenever and wherever we thus behold the very essence of reality — there is an activity that is meaningful in itself taking place.” Further, he writes, “An activity which is meaningful in itself…cannot be accomplished except with an attitude of receptive openness and attentive silence.” Pieper’s understanding of the role of the philosopher is that he or she must be intentionally receptive, quieting the self so that one can perceive the echoes of eternity in the world that God has made. Only by subjecting the self to reality can the self ever reach the great heights of truth, goodness, and beauty.

This little book you are about to read contains five short essays by Josef Pieper wherein he reflects Christianly upon the visual and musical arts. The opening essay, from which I have already quoted, touches briefly upon the same ground as his longer work, Leisure, the Basis of Culture. In this brief essay he asks us to consider whether man is made for work or if work is meant to provide man with something else, something other than work. Pieper encourages us to wonder whether that other thing might not be the real thing, the thing which touches what it really means to be human.

What if the work week, the time of utility and production of goods is not the whole point? What if we do not merely rest from work so that we might return to work with more energy? Likewise, what if mere rest, the cessation of work (what some might call “quitting time,” “holiday,” or “vacation”) is not the thing for which we should be living? What if we were called to feast, to celebrate, to make things which are good in themselves and not for some other use?

This is, in fact, what real art is. Art is not for something else. Art is a reflexive expression which comes from sincere contemplation. Art expresses the artist’s impressions of reality. The more that expression mirrors reality, as it is, the more pure the art. The artist displays or performs his art so as to invite the beholder to join in the contemplation. The true artist leads the beholder to experience with him the truths he has mined from reality by humbling himself before the real. The true artist makes himself a conduit of reality. The false artist, contrariwise, puts only himself on the canvas or in his song, obscuring and obfuscating reality for the beholder through the promotion of only his own ego. The false artist is a wall, but the true artist is a window through which others may behold reality.

If you want to begin thinking about the arts philosophically, you have picked up the right little book. Josef Pieper is, himself, a true artist and through him I believe we will be able to see more about art than we ever have before.

Below you will find links to each section of the study guide for Josef Pieper’s “Only The Lover Sings” as they become available. If you would like to pick up a copy of the book to join in the study you may do so by clicking HERE. For a list of other Great Books study guides already available, in development, or planned for the future you can click HERE.

Lesson 1: “Work, Spare Time, and Leisure”

Lesson 2: “Learning How To See Again”

Lesson 3: “Thoughts About Music” and “Music and Silence”

Lesson 4: “Remembrance: Mother of the Muses”

Lesson 5: “Those ‘Guests at the Festival’”

Lesson 6: “Vita Contemplativa — The Contemplative Life”