thoreau

We don't often think of work when we think of Henry David Thoreau. We think of Thoreau living with his family, or loafing around at a cabin at Walden, and mostly spending his days walking and enjoying nature. We know he did some writing, sure, but often think of him as being largely the abstract thinker type.

But Thoreau was a man of much practical skill, who lived a life of both thought and action. He did lots of kinds of work — from carpentry to surveying to helping raise Ralph Waldo Emerson's kids — and thought a lot about the nature of work, both the paid variety and the kind that's necessary for simply sustaining day-to-day life. Today on the show, John Kaag, a professor of philosophy and the co-author of Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living, shares some of Thoreau's insights on work with us. We discuss what Thoreau can teach us about the value of resignation, the importance of continuing to work with your hands to maintain what Thoreau called your "vital heat," what makes for meaningful work, and the trap of working in bad faith. We end our conversation with a call to consider what you're really being paid for in your job and the true cost of the things you buy.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• John's previous appearances on the AoM podcast:
  • AoM Podcast #480: Hiking With Nietzsche
  • AoM Podcast #576: A Treasure Trove of American Philosophy
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Emerson's eulogy for Thoreau
• AoM Article: How to REALLY Avoid Living a Life of Quiet Desperation
• Sunday Firesides: The Cost of a Thing
• Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford

Connect With John Kaag

• John's faculty page

Henry David Thoreau is one of America’s most influential thinkers and writers. 164 years after it was published, Walden continues to inspire readers to get out into nature and march to the beat of their own drummer.

But what was the worldview of the man who wrote those immortal words?

Well, for one thing, Thoreau believed in the existence of fairies.

That’s one of the insights my guest mined as he explored the intellectual and spiritual life of Henry David Thoreau. His name is Kevin Dann and in his book, Expect Great Things: The Life and Search of Henry David Thoreau, he takes readers on a tour of the inner life of a uniquely American philosopher.

Today on the show I talk to Kevin about the mystical life of Henry David Thoreau, and why Kevin would actually say that mystical isn't quite the right word to describe Thoreau. And yes, we dig into Thoreau’s belief in fairies and how, despite his magical outlook on life, he was also a keen scientific observer.

You’re never going to read Walden the same way after listening to this episode.