The analogy between the philosopher and the monk, at least with respect to the orthodox Benedictine tradition, seems very apt: A monk may ‘do’ a lot of things—read, write, cook, clean, blow glass—but they aren’t what make him a monk. What makes a monk a monk is the act of contemplation, the contemplative life.
The ‘specific difference’ of the philosopher
The ‘specific difference’ of the philosopher
The ‘specific difference’ of the philosopher
The analogy between the philosopher and the monk, at least with respect to the orthodox Benedictine tradition, seems very apt: A monk may ‘do’ a lot of things—read, write, cook, clean, blow glass—but they aren’t what make him a monk. What makes a monk a monk is the act of contemplation, the contemplative life.