“Idleness is the beginning of all vices, the crown of all virtues”, wrote Franz Kafka in his diary in 1917. In fact, idleness is often viewed negatively in society today. Indeed, it is frequently held to be unnecessary, even associated with laziness. And yet! L’unemployment, from which idleness derives its etymological origin, was, in Greek or Roman Antiquity, reserved for people who had the leisure to cultivate themselves, to practice politics and rhetoric, even to philosophize. And the culture of free time remains today, in China, a true art of living. Western societies also seem to be beginning to rediscover its virtues, at a time of permanent hyper-connection: sociologists and philosophers even see idleness as a means of fighting against dehumanizing productivity.

The term “idleness”, etymologically derived from the Latin term “Leisure”, designates “The state of someone who lives without work and without having a permanent occupation”, according to the definition given by the Larousse dictionary. Originally, its opposite was «Business», from which the term negation originated, and designated the hard work reserved for slaves, for the lower classes in the Roman world. The Greek and Roman citizens, then the artistocrats, found through the otium the capacity to reflect, to make politics, to contemplate, to study. For Thomas Hobbes, moreover, “Idleness is the mother of philosophy”. 

Thus, according to the times and the context, idleness can be a value: a person not having a labor-intensive activity can then devote himself entirely to a cultural or intellectual activity, as among the Greeks and Romans of Antiquity. . But, in current societies which sanctify work, such as ours, idleness, synonymous with idleness, has more of a negative image, associated with laziness, laziness. Idleness is then seen, according to the commonly used adage, “Like the mother of all vices”. It gives the idle person the image of his uselessness as a reflection.

Idleness is however, today, revalued, in particular by certain modern and contemporary philosophers or sociologists: it could, thus, be an instrument of fight against the dehumanizing productivity. And its strengths do not stop there: idleness would allow you to take some distance and thus be able to create and develop new ideas. 

Citizens also find there an opportunity to take a step back, and see in the ability to take free time or in meditation, a philosophy of life that can lead to joy and happiness. In a world promised to the speed and robotization of tasks, can idleness once again become a new way of life, or even a form of resistance? It would also be necessary, for this, to prepare future citizens from an early age for this more sober mode of existence, because as Paul Morand wrote in The wake-up call in 1937, “Idleness demands just as many virtues as work; it requires the cultivation of the mind, soul and eyes, a taste for meditation and dreams, serenity ”.

With the Apology for the idle, Robert-Louis Stevenson writes: “Idleness is not about doing nothing, but doing a lot of what is not recognized in the dogmatic forms of the ruling class.” Thus, meditating, praying, thinking, and even reading, so many activities sometimes judged by society as idle, would require just as many virtues as work: and this form of idleness would require, as Paul Morand says, “The cultivation of the mind, soul and eyes, the taste for meditation and dreams, serenity”.

“Human beings really need life and time to do nothing. We are in a work-related pathology, where anyone who does nothing is necessarily a lazy person ”, says Pierre Rabhi. And yet, even scientific studies show it: when it is on standby, in pause mode, the brain is built. Thus, when we let our mind wander, without focusing our attention, this is accompanied by a great wave of activity in our brain which then consumes nearly 80% of daily energy: this is what discovered in 1996 the researcher Bharat Biswal, of the University of Wisconsin.

However, this groundswell of cerebral activity, in the absence of any stimulation, makes it possible to harmonize the activities of the different regions of our brain, during our wakefulness as well as during our sleep. “This dark energy of our brain, (that is, when it is in default operating mode), indicates Jean-Claude Ameisen in his book Les Beats du temps, feeds our memories, our daydreams, our intuitions, our unconscious deciphering of the meaning of our existence ”.

Likewise, meditation, which aims to focus his attention, is in fact an active process, during which the individual tames his emotions, his thoughts… and during which the cerebral connections are remodeled. For the psychologist-psychotherapist Isabelle Célestin-Lhopiteau, cited in Sciences et Avenir, Méditer, “It is to carry out a work of presence to oneself having a therapeutic scope”. And indeed, while “Most of the time, we are focused on the future (which is likely to happen) or we ruminate on the past, to meditate is to return to the present, to get out of mental agitation, of judgment”.

Meditation increases the emission of brain waves associated with deep relaxation and calm arousal in novices. In experts, more waves associated with intense mental activity and active arousal appear. Meditation would even generate the power to make positive emotions last over time. In addition, eight regions of the brain are altered by constant practice of meditation, including the areas of body awareness, memory consolidation, self-awareness and emotions.

Knowing how to stop, cultivating idleness: a virtue which is, in China, considered as wisdom. And we would have, according to the philosopher Christine Cayol, author of Why do the Chinese have times, much to gain “To impose on us a real discipline of free time”. We should therefore learn to take time, impose our own moments in our often hyper-active lives, cultivate our free time like a garden …

Just like General de Gaulle himself, who took the time to stop, to walk with his cat or to make a success, and who even considered it bad that some of his collaborators never stop. “Life is not work: working endlessly drives you crazy”, asserted Charles de Gaulle.

Especially since boredom, in itself, also has its virtues … Don’t we repeat regularly that it is good to let children be bored? Cited in The Women’s Journal, psychologist Stephan Valentin explains: “Boredom is very important and must have its place in the daily life of children. It is an essential factor for its development, especially for its creativity and free play. “

Thus, a bored child is subjected to his internal stimuli instead of depending on external stimuli, which are also often very, or even too abundant. This precious time during which the child is bored, again indicates Stephan Valentin, “Will allow him to confront himself and think about occupations. This felt void will thus be transformed into new games, activities, ideas… ”.

What if idleness was simply a path to happiness? If knowing how to detach from modern impatience was a key to a happy life, a path to simple joys? Hermann Hesse, in The Art of Idleness (2007), deplores: “We can only regret that our smallest distractions have for some time also been affected by modern impatience. Our way of enjoying is hardly less feverish and exhausting than the practice of our profession. ” Hermann Hesse also points out that by obeying this motto which commands “To do the maximum in a minimum of time”, cheerfulness is decreasing, despite the increase in entertainment. The philosopher Alain also goes in this direction, who wrote in 1928 in his About happiness that “The main mistake of our time is to seek speed in everything”.

Knowing how to stop, take the time to meditate, to speak, to read, to be quiet. Even, that of praying, which is a certain form of“Thinking idleness”… Detaching ourselves from urgency, freeing ourselves from this form of modern slavery that our over-connected societies have become, where our brains are constantly called upon by digital technology, social networks and video games: all this also requires a certain form education. In a new model of society, for example, where a universal subsistence income would allow those who so desire to be idle rather than being caught in the turmoil of “The speed which wears down machines and consumes energy, which stupefies people” (Alain), a new happiness that is both societal and individual could emerge. 

To conclude, could we not quote Marcel Proust, who wrote in Journées de lecture: “There may not be days in our childhood that we have lived so fully as those we thought we left without living them, those we spent with a favorite book. Everything which, it seemed, fulfilled them for others, and which we dismissed as a vulgar obstacle to divine pleasure … “