Touching Fish | Daily Philosophy

What’s it with the fish?

Lately, the Guardian had an article titled “Touching fish craze sees China’s youth discover methods to laze amid ‘996’ work tradition”. This was a bit puzzling on the primary look, so I attempted to learn it and perceive what it was speaking about. Seems, in case you don’t know (like I didn’t), that “996” means having to work from 9 within the morning to 9 within the night, 6 days every week.

The “fish” reference is defined within the article thus:

In line with the article, this results in behaviours like: “refill a thermos with whisky, do planks or stretches within the work pantry at common intervals, drink litres of water to immediate plenty of journeys to the bathroom on work time and, as soon as there, spend time on social media or enjoying video games in your telephone.” (The Guardian)

And an nameless individual contributed this little bit of knowledge: “Not working exhausting is everybody’s primary proper … With or with out authorized safety, everybody has the suitable to not work exhausting.” (The Guardian)

A proper to laziness?

That is one thing to consider, significantly within the context of Aristotle, of whom we have been speaking recently on this blog. It one way or the other doesn’t appear proper that younger folks, usually of their first jobs, on their first steps into their very own lives, would see it as a worthwhile exercise to sit down within the workplace bathroom and play video games as an alternative of working. I don’t imply to endorse working twelve hours a day for six days per week, however retreating from work fully and contemplating “not working exhausting” a “primary proper” additionally appears odd and one way or the other incorrect. However why precisely?

It so occurs that Aristotle offers us simply the suitable reply.

Aristotle would by no means see “touching fish” as an issue of the authorized regulation of labor. For him, legal guidelines are largely irrelevant to the morality of our behaviour. Sure, we’re a part of a society, and as such we should discover a means of coexisting in a beneficent means with the folks round us, however ultimately, the aim of life is to not obey legal guidelines however to achieve eudaimonia, that excellent sort of happiness that comes from significant engagement with the world that surrounds us.

For Aristotle, behaving ethically will not be one thing that we do as a result of we’d be punished if we didn’t obey the legal guidelines. It’s, quite, the one means of performing rationally, of performing in a means that can, in the long term, profit ourselves.

And it’ll do that as a result of every one of us must function as well we can as human beings in order that others can even attain the very best degree of their “functioning,” of their very own “human potential”. After which we are going to all collectively revenue from that optimum degree of everybody realising their talents and skills to the best extent attainable. We can be a society of fortunately busy, inventive individuals who function beneath their very own will on the highest ranges of what they’re, each one, in a position to obtain. Individuals who derive a deep satisfaction from residing and dealing as their greatest, most productive selves.

Now it’s simple to see the place the concept of laziness being a “primary proper” goes incorrect. It’s a bit like claiming that being poor or uneducated, or consuming dangerous meals are primary rights. Properly, they may be, however nobody of their proper minds would need to declare such rights.

Being lazy, removed from being one thing good, could be, for Aristotle, a complete failure of a human being and the easiest way for somebody to guarantee that they’ll by no means attain true happiness.

Think about a lion that’s too lazy to hunt. An ant that’s too lazy to hold meals into its nest. A bee that’s too lazy to fly from flower to flower. For Aristotle, the human being who hides in the bathroom as a way to get away from their work is performing in an equally loopy and self-defeating means. That lion, that ant, that bee: they’ll by no means attain any sort of happiness or satisfaction of their lives. Once they hunt, or carry bits of meals, or fly round amongst the flowers, they don’t do it solely as a result of they’re hungry and since they might in any other case starve. They do it as a result of performing in these methods is a fulfilment of their greatest potential as what they’re, every in its personal means.

The very best sort of lion is powerful, fast, lethal to its enemies, however good to its personal form, producing wholesome and powerful offspring. How can a lion attain this stage if it doesn’t hunt? The place will it get to observe its pace and power, how will it compete for a mate, and the way will it train its younger to do the identical? A lazy lion essentially is a failed, sad, ravenous lion, the worst instance of its form. In the identical means, if a human being spends their life “touching fish”, enjoying video games on a bathroom seat, hiding from any actual problem, how will they ever be capable of develop their virtues, their intelligence, their social expertise, their work expertise, their skills and their phronesis? They won’t. They are going to stay unfinished human beings, unable to seek out lasting satisfaction in their very own existence, unable to be productive and happy with their very own productiveness.

And this has nothing to do with exploitation or with working legal guidelines. It’s an argument that’s fully primarily based on the circumstances of fulfilment for each particular person life. One thing that each individual should expertise for themselves.

Realising one’s potential is, for Aristotle, the one strategy to a very pleased life.

In our personal lives…

This entire factor will not be actually about China’s youth. It’s about all of us and the way we relate to our personal lives and to our personal productiveness. Usually we dream of being lazy as some superb state. I do know myself how tempting a heat mattress appears on a chilly morning, and the way a lot simpler it’s to only watch one other YouTube video of somebody gardening as an alternative of getting up and writing a weblog publish, educating one’s kids a brand new language, or practising scales on a piano.

However ultimately, we additionally all understand how empty a day can really feel after we’ve stuffed it up with meaningless exercise. How dangerous one feels after hours of mendacity round watching movies, or a night spent in entrance of some brainless TV present. Deep inside, all of us really feel the satisfaction of a piece effectively executed, of a profitable, tough dish that we managed to organize, or the satisfaction of lastly beating our laziness and scrubbing the toilet clear. After such feats, the remainder of the day feels good in a means that it doesn’t in any other case, as if every thing was bathed in just a bit brighter gentle, as if we have been guided by spirit: which is exactly what the phrase “eudaimonia” means.

We should always then look out for alternatives to not be “touching fish”. We needs to be in search of methods to have interaction extra with the world, not much less. Attempt to see if we are able to use that half-hour between the hairdresser and choosing up the youngsters from their lesson to jot down a couple of concepts for a inventive dinner. If we are able to use the ten minutes on the bus-stop to take heed to an academic podcast. If we are able to use the time that we’d waste watching TV to learn ebook or to speak to the youngsters about their day. And at work, to attempt to realise the most effective model of ourselves in our work. To make the world higher by that little bit that our eight hours of each day working life can contribute to society. And if our work is basically simply meaningless drudgery with none optimistic impact on anybody, then maybe we must always search for a special job, one that can allow us to develop into higher, richer, happier folks.

For Aristotle, touching fish is nearly definitely the incorrect strategy to go about one’s life.

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