Earlier this summer, after I successfully defended my 350-page dissertation, my adviser shook my hand and said, “Congratulations, Dr. Mass.” Like my fellow philosophy graduate students at The New School for Social Research (NSSR), I had spent the previous half decade studying Aristotle and Hegel, writing about Spinoza and John Dewey, and learning Ancient Greek and Latin. However, unlike my fellow PhD recipients, all of whom were equally exhausted and exhilarated, I am 73 years old.
I was not at NSSR because I needed a credential or new career. Rather, after a successful life in both law and business—principally as a prosecutor for Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau and as a compliance officer and partner at Goldman Sachs—I had finally reached the point where I could devote myself to what I wanted all along: to learn for the sake of learning.
I admit, my precise path is not for everyone, but something like it may be for you. Aristotle famously begins his Metaphysics by stating that “All men by nature desire to know.” As I found, that desire does not diminish with age. If anything, once freed from the gnawing demands of career and personal ambition, it can become stronger. You too likely have that “desire to know.” Do not neglect it. Your mind needs exercise and care every bit as much as your body does. The strong temptation upon retiring from a demanding career is to breathe a sigh of relief, shut off your mind, and play. This urge may be especially powerful now that AI is increasingly able to do our thinking for us. Fight that temptation. Learning new things will satisfy the hunger to know that we all share, bring you pleasure, and keep your mind sharp.
Here are some of the lessons I have drawn from these recent years of intensive study that might be helpful to those of you considering a similar lifestyle during your retirement years.
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