關於
Zena Hitz is a philosopher and Tutor in the great books program at St. John's College in Annapolis, where she was also an undergraduate. She earned a master's at Cambridge and a PhD in philosophy at Princeton, with scholarship rooted in classical philosophy — particularly Plato and Aristotle's ethics and politics. After years in research academia and a period living in a Catholic religious community, she returned to St. John's convinced that learning matters for its own sake, not for prestige or achievement. Her book Lost in Thought (2020) defends the hidden pleasures of the intellectual life, and she founded the Catherine Project, which offers free great-books education to anyone who wants to read seriously.
主要貢獻
- Authored Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life (2020), translated into multiple languages
- Founded the Catherine Project, a free liberal-arts program teaching great books to adults worldwide
- Received the 2020 Hiett Prize in the Humanities
- Authored A Philosopher Looks at the Religious Life (2023)
- Tutor in the great books program at St. John's College, Annapolis
影片與訪談
思想連結
Aristotle
受其影響Philosopher & Founder of the Lyceum
《Lost in Thought》建立在亞里斯多德《尼各馬可倫理學》結尾的主張上：最高善是為其自身而被選擇的，它的歸宿是閒暇中的沉思。Hitz 保留這個主張，又把它放寬：亞里斯多德把沉思想得太窄，只當成哲學家的活動，然而作為人生目的的閒暇不需要莊園，可以在家務之間的片刻停頓裡取得。在一個以產出衡量心智的時代，她提出的是那個古老的論證：即使什麼也沒產出，思考本身仍值得去做。
voegelinview.com · philpapers.org
蘇格拉底
受其影響雅典哲學家・提問者
《Lost in Thought》的象徵取自柏拉圖《會飲篇》的一幕：蘇格拉底在赴宴途中停在一道門前，就那樣站著出神。Hitz 把他當作「為學習本身而學習」的典範——內在生活是一處避難所，讓人躲開一個要求每件事都必須有用的世界。在一個以產出衡量思考的時代，一顆停下來只為了想一想的心，是一種安靜的反駁。
commonreader.co.uk · artsfuse.org
