The Philosopher as a Product of Leisure Society

The transition from tribal, hunter-gatherer man to settled civilization was made possible through the creation of increasingly sophisticated irrigation,agricultural and farming techniques. Man realized first that hunting and living in groups produced more food per capita than individuals or single families; the rearing of livestock and the conscientious growing of crops on ever larger scales allowed not only for larger gatherings, but also for the twin economic phenomena of specialization and division of labor.

As this surplus grew, fringe occupations began to range from blacksmiths or tool-makers to more abstract professions such as griots (storytellers),teachers, and with the development of the money economy, even moneylenders. This meant that the average member of society could afford to work for fewer hours each day, and could perhaps choose a profession better suited to his own unique skills and temperament.

Early civilized man was no longer immediately preoccupied with having to find food or fighting for his very survival. Life was still perilous, but stable. His newfound free time and increased security gave him time to paint, draw, and create music, but more importantly, to think. As society became ever more affluent, private property emerges, and with it the institution of inheritance. The combination of money, surplus and specialization now allows for a man to accumulate wealth or inherit it, freeing him from the kind of soul-crushing labor and constant anxiety that Karl Marx would describe as being anathema to free intellectual development. Herein lies the rub- no matter how wealthy the society, the concentration of wealth and power would invariably be pyramidal in shape, so that not all would have the luxury of abundant leisure time. This was as true for ancient Egypt as it was for 18th century industrial England. It also applies today.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who would laze on the grassy plains and stare at the clouds for hours, once sat crying at the side of a river because it occurred to him that all things are in a state of flux. Such unmanly conduct aside, Pleistocene-era man, hiking across the frozen Caspian sea looking for that night's shelter, would never be able to indulge himself in a similar fashion.Many of history's most celebrated philosophers were either middle-class, noble born, or lived off of the bounty of others while they created their magnum opae. Socrates was an Athenian senator who studied in Egypt. Plato was born into a well-to-do family that had ties to the Spartan leadership- one of his uncles was among the thirty tyrants that seized control of Athens after the Peloponnesian War. Aristotle was elitism itself.Gautama Buddha was a Prince before he renounced his title. What ancient Nepalese peasant could afford to squat under a bodhi tree for twenty years, contemplating the mysteries of the Universe? Leo Tolstoy was a Count. Yashua (better known by his anglicized name,Jesus) lived off of the generosity of his hosts, and Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) was married to Khadija, a well-to-do merchant. Mahatma Gandhi was an Oxford-trained lawyer before he began his quest. The list continues ad infinitum.The philosopher class is ultimately the product of a civilization that has so evolved that its surplus production allows for the existence of a luxuried, social stratum that does not directly contribute to a society's survival.