How much do I weigh? or Wow, his rotundness is quite beautiful

Pieper quotes Junger as saying observation is an act of aggression. In this, he mentions measuring and counting and weighing as opposed to passively taking the color and beauty of a rose. These acts of aggression are scientific. These activities are scientific. I thinks he's trying to bring out a central point in the mode of understanding things. The 20th and 21st centuries have elevated scientific knowledge, acts of aggression mind you, as the sole, or rather, primary mode of knowledge. Passivity and contemplation are seen as a waster of time because they lack utility.

Reflection on Chapter II of Leisure: The Basis of Culture