The gospel of the simple life, as preached by the Tolstoyans, the Gandhians, the Yogis, and the Fakirs, rejects every beautiful thing because, in its view, all art is distracting, unnecessary luxury. It rejects most of the inventions, developments, and creations brought about by modern science and industry because man can live without them and did, until recently, do so. It demands that he acquire the barest minimum of goods, food, clothing, and shelter which he can manage to maintain existence. Philosophy, while appreciative of the virtue of being unpossessed by possessions, of the advantage of some simplification of our pattern, sees no need why we should go so far as these ascetic extremists go. It rejects their rejections and turns away from their demands. In short, it accepts the reasonable enjoyment of life, art, possessions, and the physical world, so long as we do not forget the quest while we are enjoying them.
-- Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practices Involved > Chapter 7 : Discipline Desires > # 149
