Since the inception of the internet and subsequent ubiquity of the reliance on smart phones and algorithms for both information and entertainment, I perceive many of us have lost touch with the importance and relevance of reading the classics.
When it comes to reading habits in particular, I link back to an essay I wrote last November where I mentioned author Johann Hari’s comments on the decline of this activity:
Hari cites study after study and notes that the number of men in America who read for pleasure has dropped by 40% in the past decade. 29% for women. The average time an American reads a book is down to 17 minutes a day, while average screentime sits at around 5.5 hours a day.
It is not that people no longer read. I know a fair share of enthusiastic readers, but when confronted with the reality, we all know many of us spend a considerable more amount of time online than we do reading…this includes myself. Even if I read 1-2 hours a day, my screen time usually exceeds that.
Every day is different, but there is almost always more room to silence our devices, hide them away, and pick up a book.
Short-form content is so widely available and easy to get at, its used as a quick fix for boredom or evading a mood we should be sitting in, writing about or thinking on; learning from it. It is, generally speaking, a low-quality, low return on investment way of spending time. I will cede a bit and add, there are a handful of exceptions on streaming platforms whose goal it is to educate and even promote a love of reading and storytelling. But, even when used in disciplined terms, some short-form content can prove beneficial, this is not the approach most users take.
…as I sat in a café yesterday, I noticed many patrons with books laid out before them, presumably meant to be read, but with phones in hand instead.
Reverence for the greats
From a certain vantage point, culture has become deeply unserious. It is memed to death and humour is a preferred method of communication over vulnerability. It seems to me, part of this trend includes a growing attitude of non-chalance toward finding enduring insight or wisdom in classical works of literature or philosophy. Even some universities are dropping humanities and english programs as an increased interest in STEM enrollment continues. I agree with the author here as he says;
One of higher ed's main roles is to preserve and transmit culture while adapting to and being changed by it.
Trasmitting culture is not done through science - as integral as it is. Culture is transmitted through works of art, literature, and philosophy. This is where we discover the beating heart of what it means to be human.
On one hand, I’d presume this is because we have fewer physical challenges in modern society, so increased frivolity has little to no consequence. However, the value in seeking out intellectual rigour and knowledge is still very measureable.
It can be difficult to articulate how integral these subjects are to the human experience, because I find it goes beyond simply knowing you should engage with these works to reap a cognitive benefit. It is not just about arduously slogging through something like “Nichomachean Ethics”, “Hamlet”, or “The Brothers Karamozov” because you feel like you should and not experiencing enjoyment. They are not just sources of wisdom, but they are to be appreciated.
If you have a perspective which values literature and philosophical inquiry, they are effortlessly treated as works worth savouring; read to nourish the heart, spirit, and mind. They are mediums which allow us to make more sense of our world, relationships, life and death, and spirituality, regardless of how seemingly advanced we continue to become.
I turn to James Baldwin to provide a stirring reminder:
You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks he is alone. This is why art is important. Art would not be important if life were not important, and life is important.
-James Baldwin, “Conversations with James Baldwin”
An unchanged reality
Art which is honest and well-executed opens us up to the consistency of human experience. (I will also include film, though not the topic of this essay in this sentiment) The landscape of our planet has changed along with our means of discernment and navigation, but our emotional and psychological experience remains relatively unmoved from our ancestors. Technology may transform how we complete tasks in the day-to-day, but there are perennial experiences and unanswered questions that only reading great novels and actively engaging with philosophical inquiry can handle.
In another essay I wrote last year, “Why we read”, I wrote about this same concept and noted that “appreciating the human experience” is among those reasons. It is certainly most important to me.
We are just as far from understanding the nature of metaphysics, or whether or not there is a god as we were when Plato theorised the “demiurge” (From the Greek, craftsman or artisan) in his Timaeus dialogue; a figure he deemed as the creator and keeper of our universe. The principle of sufficient reason, which states that there is an “a priori proof”, or that everything must have a catalyst, is still used commonly today to explain the existence of a god: the universe exists, therefore it must have been crafted by a creator. Just as people questioned the stars centuries before the present time, we continue to search for meaning and explanation for our existence.
So it was, and so it will be, until the end of mankind.
Do we find spiritual solace in physics or other sciences? Perhaps. But, the most moving answers to life’s deepest questions of meaning are found in literature (Such as those included in Bloom’s, “Western Canon”…which famously excludes one of my favourite’s, Dostoevsky) and those who penned philosophy’s greatest hits; Aristotle, Plato, Spinoza, Decartes, Kant, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, among others.
A reflection
How we spend our free time is a reflection of how much we value being alive.
Committing to learning and being more disciplined in your routine reflects ambition and a desire to make the most of life. Part of that is understanding that it is not just that you read as a general rule, but what you read. In the same way that certain foods and exercise move our physical body toward increased sustainability and health, certain writings and ways of thought propel our minds toward greatness and a genuine thirst for experience.
Understanding that not all of us have the luxury of inordinate amounts of free time, and that certain essential tasks like earning a living or parenting leave some of us more exhausted at the end of a day than others, it is logical that the most enjoyable activity is not always something cognitively demanding or existentionally deep. I would urge us though to ask a few questions:
Do I really feel good about how I spend my free time? What do I have to show for it?
Are there things I am curious about, but make excuses to not investigate further? Are there hobbies I want to cultivate but keeping shelving?
Could a shift in my attitude or in how I transition out of work into free time clear my head in a way that makes reading and introspection more enjoyable in the evening hours? (i.e.: instead of relying on alcohol or scrolling to unwind, going for a walk or meditating might give your mind the break it needs to feel ready for a more coginitively demanding activity.)
This is a great place to start. A few year’s ago, getting a bird's-eye-view of my routine was eye-opening and propelled me toward a real desire for wanting to cultivate a habit of learning and reading history’s most influential novels. After I began to be honest about how much time I was spending on low-return habits, it was clear where gains could be made and slowly I made changes.
I read a lot as a child and have always been deeply curious about life, but I have not always been a real ardent lover of literature or a deeply philosophically minded person. It took developing the habit and wanting to become a new type of thinker. Once I did, I realised that I could not go back to my old ways and feel the same type of fulfillment. It became a joy and a mission to grow that curiosity and see what those who’ve written long before me had to say about it.
As I discovered how timeless and unchanging human experience really is beneath the surface, I could not help but want to unearth even more. I cannot begin to express the growth I’ve experienced through coming to appreciate the aquisition of classic stories and philosophical ideas. They act as scaffolding which I can then build my own worldview and life upon, becoming increasingly confident, well-rounded, and even more curious with each book I read.
The cost of procrastination is the life we could have lived.
I feel so much more proactive about where I am headed because I am actively seeking fresh perspective and knowledge. I think that is a fairly convincing argument for giving the great novels of history a serious look.
Consider all you could discover in the course of even just one hour by replacing a a habit you’ve repeated thousands of times without reward, with a book you’ve always wanted to explore, but have yet to.