Sacred and Profane Love

Sacred and Profane Love Episode 23: Lost in Thought with Zena Hitz

Jan 11, 2021
Zena Hitz, philosopher and St. John’s College faculty member and author, reflects on how a life of study reshapes meaning. She recalls formative academic moments and critiques competitive, metrics-driven universities. Conversations range from contemplation and pleasure in truth to discipline, exemplars like Dorothy Day, and how nonprofessional intellectual lives flourish.
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INSIGHT

Intellectual Work As Loving Service

  • Intellectual work, done rightly, can be a form of loving service equivalent to practical help.
  • Properly undertaken intellectual life pushes back darkness and is essential to community flourishing.
INSIGHT

Leisurely Nature Of Intellectual Life

  • Zena aligns with Josef Pieper that intellectual activity is fundamentally leisurely, not mere labor.
  • She still uses 'work' for practical contexts but insists contemplation isn't reducible to productivity.
ADVICE

Cultivate Intellectual Life Outside Academia

  • Do not assume you need an academic job to live an intellectual life; pursue serious contemplation within any vocation.
  • Value amateurs and everyday practitioners who cultivate sustained attention and learning outside professional academia.
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