Anti-intellectualism

[pokerfan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism

Anti-intellectualism describes a sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits. This may be expressed in various ways, such as attacks on the merits of science, education, art, or literature.

Anti-intellectuals often perceive themselves as champions of the ordinary people and egalitarianism against elitism, especially academic elitism.

<snip>

Political cartoonist Thomas Nast contrasts a scholar with a prize-fighter. His caricature encapsulates the popular view that sees reading and study as being in opposition to sport and athletic pursuits, although the bovine figure of the fighter is no less negative than that of the scholar.

<snip>

Populism can be another major strain of anti-intellectualism. In this context, intellectuals are presented as elitists and tricksters whose knowledge and rhetorical skills are feared, not because they are useless, but because they may be used to hoodwink the ordinary people, who are conceived of as the 'salt of the earth' and the source of virtue. American President George W. Bush has been accused of appealing to this type of populism. Those who argue from populist ideals will often assert that knowledge needs to be regulated by the people, claiming that educators need to work in line with policies made by stakeholders such as parent groups.

In a similar vein, the curiosity and objectivity of intellectuals about foreign countries and beliefs is portrayed as a lack of patriotism or moral clarity, and intellectuals are often held to be suspect of holding dangerously foreign, possibly subversive, opinions. An extreme form was embodied by Joseph McCarthy, the anti-Communist senator from Wisconsin.

The entire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism">article is worth reading.

[donco6]

1. I'm hoping anti-intellectualism is finally falling out of favor.

But intellectualism involves actual WORK, so I'm not overly optimistic.

[pokerfan]

2. The trouble with the world...

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Some have told me, in the past...

That I am intelligent, starting when I was a child(long story, turned into a big mess. IQ test.). Well, big fucking deal. I have actually been turned down for jobs and let go from jobs for being too intelligent or too qualified. That was the reason given.

Sometimes I think intelligence is one of the cruelest tricks fate, god, the muses or whatever can play on someone. It seems more like a sentence than a gift.

[Greyhound]

7. Agreed. Being brighter than most others just makes it much harder.

Plus the added bonus of seeing what's coming while nobody will listen until it's too late, and having more work dumped on you because the other person "can't handle the load", more work for no more, or even less, pay.

[MedleyMisty]

26. I feel you on that

It's like you're surrounded by idiots, and no, you're not looking down on them and thinking that they're less than you are no matter how much they protest that. Instead you're thinking, "OMG you people are destroying everything and you don't even care! Why am I stuck in this handbasket with people who want to go to hell?!"

And people wonder why I'm so misanthropic. What's to like about a species that, to the best of your ability to understand it, seems to really really like the thought of destroying its only home and ruining life for itself and everyone else on the planet now and in the future?

I really am trying to learn, but I tend to assume that everyone else has the same abilities that I do and that therefore they are aware of what they're doing and know the consequences and can feel the pain that they cause and do it anyway.

[BuyingThyme]

4. In my world, intelligent people and intellectuals are two different groups of people.

Intellectuals are good with words and facts; they're authoritarians. Intelligent people think for themselves; they're intelligent.

Anybody who has a talent for vocabulary and memorization can be perceived as an intellectual -- even if they're as dumb as bricks. The larger the vocabulary and the better recollection of facts, the more "intellectual" one becomes.

Take Nazi William Buckley, for example. Not an intelligent man by any stretch, but certainly an intellectual.

[anigbrowl]

5. OK, humpty dumpty

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,' it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.'

- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

If you think that being good with words and facts makes someone an authoritarian, then you're not going to like the rest of this thread.

[BuyingThyme]

6. I noticed you went directly for the authoritarianism.

And you've convinced yourself that that's the intelligent thing to do.

But you failed to do any thinking for yourself. You're an intellectual, but certainly not intelligent.

You'll never understand how conspicuous you are.

[anigbrowl]

11. Nice troll

But like most trolls, a meaningless one. you can accuse anyone of thinking for themselves. Basically you're saying that existing knowledge has no value to you because it hasn't been worked out from first principles, and laying claim to being an original (and therefore intelligent) thinker. This is the old rhetorical fallacy of the false dilemma.

Have fun with your stated objection to the use of facts and words in the reasoning process.

[BuyingThyme]

25. You begin your post with "Nice troll" and then go on to talk about rhetorical fallacies?

Maybe you're neither intelligent nor an intellectual.

[Dora]

14. William Buckley was absolutely an intelligent man.

You've left out the factor of personal values.

William Buckley had a phenomenal intellect. Read about the man and find out for yourself all he did in the course of his lifetime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Buckley,_Jr..

Now, I didn't care for Buckley because his values were in opposition to my own. That doesn't make him any less of an intelligent person.

As a self-considered smart person, I really take offense at your post. I think for myself, and I believe that I'm fairly skilled with words and facts. People who are "dumb as bricks" do not have a talent for vocabulary or memorization - as those are skills that are factored into a person's intelligence.

I don't know whether to :rofl: or :cry: at your opinion.

If you REALLY believe this, if this is a duality you choose to create to categorize the people in your life, I suspect you will find some complications in your assessments of other people down the line.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. Buckley brings up the subject of pseudo-intellectuals.

i.e. people who look like intellecuals to the *ahem* "low infor" people.

But really are dumb as bricks.

[Dora]

22. Indeed. And Dick Cheney is an excellent example of just that.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/6450422/the_curse_of_dick_cheney/

"Cheney's manner and authority of voice far outstrip his true abilities," says Chas Freeman, who served under Bush's father as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "It was clear from the start that Bush required adult supervision -- but it turns out Cheney has even worse instincts. He does not understand that when you act recklessly, your mistakes will come back and bite you on the ass."

[tama]

8. Wisdom

has nothing to do with intellect or stupidity.

[NashVegas]

9. We're In the Woods. A Bear Is Chasing. You Have Your Intellect, I Have a Gun

The brain has amazing capacities, and I'm sure you've heard the old meme about 10%.

There's more to adaptability than the ability to enjoy reading Plato.

[anigbrowl]

12. That's easy; climb a tree.

Being lighter than a bear, I can climb higher than it can. Do you have bullets for your gun? Oops.

[NashVegas]

16. Something I Heard Recently

If it's a brown bear, it will shake you out or knock the tree down somehow.

If it's a black bear, it will climb up after you.

[anigbrowl]

19. Having actually climbed trees in the woods, I'm fairly sure of myself on this one.

A bear weighs about a ton. I weigh 120 pounds. There are branches that I can get up to and secure myself to which are above those that will snap under the weight of a bear.

You know, one can be a fan of books, learning, etc. and also have real-world experience of both streets and wilderness. These simplistic metaphors are amusing soundbites, but no more than that.

[NashVegas]

23. That Wasn't The Point, However

and also have real-world experience of both streets and wilderness.

That is the same sort of intelligence that self-described intellectuals, such as what's discussed in the OP, dismiss and it's more or less what I was saying in my response - which was not directed at you, anyway. But if you really want to be a dick about it, chances are the bear can out-wait you.

[Forkboy]

24. The largest bears weigh around 600 pounds (give or take), not 2000 pounds.

If a bear climbs after you (which black bears can and will do) they don't have to reach you. As the tree gets higher the branches get thinner and weaker. Eventually, your weight, such as it is, combined with the bear's could bring you both down.

Climbing trees is all well and good, but it doesn't make you an expert on bears, just as being in Alaska doesn't really give Palin any insight on Russia.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. Ah, the Sarah Palin approach to life.

There's intellectuals. And then there's the people who take their guns into the woods because they're scared of being chased by bears.

[tama]

17. Hello,

brother bear. What's your latest thoughts on US stock market?

[kiranon]

18. If it is a bear market, I'll stick with intellect thank you very much.

[MedleyMisty]

10. Already there's a post that underlines the cause of this.

People mistake intelligence for education, for career success, for gathering more material goods than neurotypical people. They also mistake the gathering of material goods for the worth of a life.

So you squish all those concepts together and you get intelligence = personal worth and "Why you readin'? You think yore better 'n' us?" and judging people's intelligence by their jobs.

I was tested for the academically gifted program in fifth grade and the results said that I was working at college level and above. My verbal score on the SAT in 7th grade qualified me for Duke's TIP program - and even in those classes I got good grades without doing more than reading the assigned text once and answered questions that no one else could.

That has nothing at all to do with my worth as a person, my formal education, my ability to accumulate shit, or my career success.

Every life is of infinite worth. And the last three are all much more a function of how much money your parents have and thus what opportunities you have than anything else. Personality also plays a role - seriously, who do you think is going to make more money? An extrovert with average intelligence who can get along socially with everyone and who is motivated by money and social position and not really all that concerned with ethics, or an introvert who needs a lot of time alone and doesn't give a shit about gathering material wealth or reality TV or celebrity gossip or any of the small talk and social bonding crap that most people do and is very concerned with ethics?

I think that anti-intellectualism is actually anti-feudal capitalism sentiment diverted into safer channels. Like I said - most of the advantages that people associate with higher intelligence are in reality advantages of having parents in a higher tax bracket, and I think that's the source of a lot of the prejudice, stereotypes, and anger surrounding intellectual ability.

[NashVegas]

21. First Interesting Post I've Seen On the Subject

Don't know that I agree 100% with your theory, but it's well worth considering, for anyone.

For my own, I have little patience for *self-described* intellectuals; surely they suffer compensation troubles just as much as the guy in the Hummer.

[Marr]

15. If you're interested in this subject I'd suggest reading

Susan Jacoby's 'Age of American Unreason'. It's a overview of the anti-intellectual streak that has always run through American culture. The whole thing has kind of had a symbolic flowering under the current Conservative movement, especially GW Bush's administration-- but it's always been a factor in our national dialogue.

By the way, I've got to disagree with all the people in this thread who are equating intellectualism with authoritarianism, or education, or intelligence, etc. Anyone can be an intellectual. You don't need a degree-- you just need a respect for logic, rational thought, and a willingness to listen to different arguments.