Sebastian de Grazia (August 11, 1917 – December 31, 2000) was an American philosopher who was Professor of

Political Philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. He received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his 1989 book '' Machiavelli in Hell''.

Biography

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

, predecessor to the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

, as an analyst. From 1962 to 1988 he taught

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

. He is also the author of ''The Political Community'' (1948), ''Errors of Psychotherapy'' (1952), '' Of Time, Work, and Leisure'' (1962), and ''A Country with No Name'' (1997).

Leisure

De Grazia has been described as the "father of leisure". His book '' Of Time, Work, and Leisure'' (1962) puts forward the idea that traditionally

leisure Leisure (, ) has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, Employment, work, job hunting, Housekeeping, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as ...

was not a matter of recreation as much as of contemplation, of expanding one's awareness and understanding of the world, and that the social context of this understanding of leisure has to a large extent been lost, and with it the notion of leisure being the pursuit of philosophy.Sebastian de Grazia: Information and Much More from Answers.com
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Notes

References

*Associated Press. (January 5, 2001)
Pulitzer Prize winner Sebastian de Grazia dead at 83
''CNN''. *Haney, M. R. (2010). The Value of Slow. In M. R. Haney and A. D. Kline (Ed.), ''The Value of Time and Leisure in a World of Work''. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. . 1917 births 2000 deaths Writers from Chicago University of Chicago alumni People of the Office of Strategic Services Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners American male biographers American historians of philosophy American philosophy academics Rutgers University faculty 20th-century American political scientists {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub