Laziness (also called
indolence) is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is often used as a pejorative. Chronic laziness may be an underlying psychological condition.
Feelings of laziness may be a symptom of
clinical depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
or listlessness.
The expression "intellectual laziness" is used to describe a tendency not to ask questions or investigate thoroughly, applying a kind of mental routine (
availability heuristicThe availability heuristic is a phenomenon in which people predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind....
) or just following the crowd (
herd behaviorHerd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks, and schools, and to human conduct during activities such as stock market bubbles and crashes, street demonstrations, sporting events,...
).
One of the
seven deadly sinsThe Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin...
in
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
thought is
slothIn the Christian moral tradition, sloth is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called the capital sins because they destroy charity in the person's heart and thus may lead to final impenitence and eternal death.-Definition:Sloth is defined as spiritual...
, which is often defined as spiritual and/or physical apathy or laziness.
Why pick the fruit from the tree when someone can pick it for you?
Anonymous
Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.
Horace, Satires
I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy.
Bernie Williams
To cease to act is to cease to exist.
Voltaire (attributed)
Laziness lends assistance to fatigue.
Anonymous
Laziness pays off today, work only tomorrow.
Anonymous
A lazy man looks for light employment.
Anonymous
The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest, for he has not earned it.
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury
The lazier a man is, the more he plans to do tomorrow.
Norwegian proverbs
Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man.
Jimmy Lyons
Laziness (also called
indolence) is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is often used as a pejorative. Chronic laziness may be an underlying psychological condition.
Feelings of laziness may be a symptom of
clinical depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
or listlessness.
Intellectual laziness
The expression "intellectual laziness" is used to describe a tendency not to ask questions or investigate thoroughly, applying a kind of mental routine (
availability heuristicThe availability heuristic is a phenomenon in which people predict the frequency of an event, or a proportion within a population, based on how easily an example can be brought to mind....
) or just following the crowd (
herd behaviorHerd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. The term pertains to the behavior of animals in herds, flocks, and schools, and to human conduct during activities such as stock market bubbles and crashes, street demonstrations, sporting events,...
).
Christianity
One of the
seven deadly sinsThe Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin...
in
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
thought is
slothIn the Christian moral tradition, sloth is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called the capital sins because they destroy charity in the person's heart and thus may lead to final impenitence and eternal death.-Definition:Sloth is defined as spiritual...
, which is often defined as spiritual and/or physical apathy or laziness. Sloth is recommended against in the Letter to the Hebrews , and associated with wickedness in one of the
parablesThe parables of Jesus, found in the synoptic gospels, embody much of Jesus' teaching.Jesus' parables are quite simple, memorable stories, often with humble imagery, each with a single message. Jesus, for example, likened the Kingdom of God to leaven or a mustard seed. Like his aphorisms, Jesus'...
of
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
in the
Gospel of MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
. In the
Wisdom booksWisdom literature is the genre of literature common in the Ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about divinity and about virtue...
of
ProverbsProverbs may refer to:*The plural of the word proverb*The Book of Proverbs, one of the books of the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament*Roy Proverbs, English footballer...
and
EcclesiastesEcclesiastes is a book of the Hebrew Bible...
, it is stated that laziness can lead to poverty .
Literature related to laziness
- Carl Honore: In Praise of Slowness, 2005, ISBN 0-06-075051-0
- Paul Lafargue (transl. Len Bracken): The Right To Be Lazy (1883) ISBN 1-892355-03-5
- Corinne Maier:
- Hello Laziness! - Why Hard Work Doesn't Pay, 2005, ISBN 0-7528-7186-2
- Bonjour Laziness! - How to Work as Little as Possible (Just Like the French), 2005, ISBN 0-375-42373-7
- Bonjour paresse
Bonjour paresse is the title of an international bestseller by Corinne Maier, a French writer, psychoanalyst, and economist. The book is a highly cynical and humorous critique of contemporary French corporate culture that advocates various ways of undermining the system...
- De l'art et la nécessité d'en faire le moins possible en entreprise, 2004, ISBN 2-84186-231-3
- Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was an English philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. Although he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died.Russell led the British "revolt against idealism" in the...
: In Praise of Idleness - And Other Essays, 1935, ISBN 0-415-32506-4
- John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and the novella Of Mice and Men . He wrote a total of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and five collections of short stories...
: The Log from the Sea of CortezThe Log from the Sea of Cortez is an English language book written by American author John Steinbeck and published in 1951. It details a six-week marine specimen-collecting boat expedition he made in 1940 at various sites in the Gulf of California , with his friend, the marine biologist Ed Ricketts...
, 1951, ISBN 0141186070.
- "Only in laziness can one achieve a state of contemplation which is a balancing of values, a weighing of oneself against the world, and the world against itself."
- Tom Hodgkinson: How To Be Free, 2006, ISBN 0-241-14321-7
See also
- The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 American comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeffrey Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who refers to himself as "The Dude"....
- The Idler (1993)
The Idler is a bi-yearly British magazine devoted to promoting its ethos of 'idle living' and all that entails. It was founded in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney with the intention of exploring alternative ways of working and living....
- Acedia
Acedia is a word from ancient Greece describing a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one's position or condition in the world. It can lead to a state of being unable to perform one's duties in life. Its spiritual overtones make it related to but distinct...
- Procrastination
Procrastination is the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite this human behavior as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision....
- Senioritis
Senioritis, from the word senior plus the suffix -itis , is a colloquial term used in the United States to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their middle school, high school, college and graduate school careers.- Causes/Effects,...
- Couch potato
A couch potato is a person who spends most of his or her free time sitting or lying on a couch. This stereotype often refers to a lazy and overweight person who watches a lot of television...
- Slacker
The term slacker is commonly used to refer to a person who avoids work , or an educated person who is viewed as an underachiever...
- Bludger
Bludger may refer to:*A type of ball used in the fictional game Quidditch in the fictional Harry Potter universe*A pimp, in 19th century slang*In Australian slang, a lazy person*Carangoides gymnostethus, a fish in the family Carangidae...