On Passivity

Is it always better to be active than passive? Is passivity a sign of cowardice - or prudence? Are people who keep their thoughts to themselves passive, or might they be actively preparing for well-considered future actions? Seemingly simple concepts turn out to be deeper and more significant than they first appear.

Have you ever been accused of being passive? Do you feel as though you think too much and don’t act enough? Have you wondered if thinking in itself constitutes doing something? This book explores active and passive behaviors and the relationship of each to thought—good, bad or otherwise.

In keeping with a long dialogic tradition, On Passivity encourages complex thought in the context of a simple setting. The two main characters, Director and Friend, explore the idea of passivity while attending a wedding reception. Throughout the dialogue they explore these core questions: 

• What is passivity and is it inherently bad? 

• How do we demonstrate both active and passive thought? 

• Why should we concentrate on thought? 

Director and Friend go beyond a definition of passivity and investigate the role thought plays in both passivity and activity. Is thinking doing nothing? What is thought? Are we passive when we think, only to become active when we ‘do’? How do we bridge the gap between activity and passivity? 

The role thought plays in gaining knowledge, reasoning, telling the truth, and living life are concepts disassembled and reassembled in a courageous way. Can we be true to ourselves and accepted for what we choose to ‘do’ even if it seems passive to those around us? As the book ends, we see a glimpse of how scary it might be if everyone were active all the time. In brief, we’re left rethinking everything.