Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life

In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? Today, when even the humanities are often defended only for their economic or political usefulness, Zena Hitz says our intellectual lives are valuable not despite but because of their practical uselessness. Drawing on inspiring examples, from Socrates and Augustine to Malcolm X and Elena Ferrante, and from films to Hitz’s own experiences as someone who walked away from elite university life in search of greater fulfillment, she offers a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought.

Zena Hitz is a tutor at St John’s College and the author of Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life. Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning for its own sake, through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional and historical. She spent three years living and working in the Madonna House Apostolate and has taught in prison programs and to other non-traditional students. When she is not teaching or speaking she spends time thinking about topics like the moral decline and fall of individuals and communities, as depicted in stories from Genesis to The Godfather.