In my opinion, anti-intellectualism is one of the world’s most serious problems, these days.
What is it? It’s the belief that what is good are the “simple people”, the “common people”, who are supposedly more honest and “real” than so-called “ivory tower” intellectuals.
It’s also the belief that thinking and learning are trouble, that they lead people to unhappiness, sinfulness, asking too many questions, and such.
It’s geeks, or more intelligent students, being called “brainy” or “nerds” and harassed by classmates. It’s science being seen as a waste of time and money. It’s a political candidate winning an election because he successfully depicted his opponent as an “egghead”. Incidentally, it’s likely that one of the reasons America currently has one of its worst presidents ever is that, by being less educated and articulate than Gore or Kerry, he appeared “more in touch” with the common man (of course, one should then wonder if you really want the village idiot in charge of the most powerful nation in the world… but I digress.)
There are several sources of anti-intellectualism. Religion is an obvious one, of course, since being intelligent and learning makes one less likely to accept arguments from authority, and to question unproven assertions. An intelligent, learned man has no need for religion – therefore, we don’t want any intelligent, learned men (to paraphrase The Fountainhead‘s Elllsworth Toohey).
Besides “normal” religion, there’s also the usual mystical, new age thinking, according to which the mind is “flawed” and imperfect, incapable of perceiving any real “revelations”, which you supposedly can only grasp with “your heart” or “your spirit”. The mind is human, and therefore imperfect, while the heart/spirit are filled with “the cosmos’s love” or any other generic, meaningless terms.
Another reason is populism, the belief that the honest, hard working “masses” are oppressed by the corrupt, privileged “elites”. While they certainly are, sometimes (in dictatorships, for instance), populism is wrong because of its belief of “the lower, the better”, and its worship of ordinariness. Populism, like most forms of collectivism, punishes people for ability and for success – therefore, it promotes mediocrity and sameness. And a populist certainly hates and feels threatened by anyone with more “brains” or education.
Dictatorships (communism, fascism, etc.) always strongly promote anti-intellectualism, for mostly the same reasons as religion does: an intelligent, educated person is much more likely to question, and to see “what’s rotten”. The “unwashed masses” are much easier to keep in line. Higher education is seen as “dangerous” and “subversive”.
Finally, a lot of people simply believe the lie that intelligence causes unhappiness, and stupid people are happier. Even today, at breakfast, I had this conversation with a co-worker, who strongly believes that lie: that most people are dumb (true) and happy (false), that most geniuses suffered their entire lives (if they did, which was not always the case, it was usually because they were persecuted), that intelligence and learning are mostly “theoretical” and are of no use in the real world, and can’t be used in order to improve your life, and so on. And I know a lot of people who think like her.
An intellectual isn’t necessarily someone more intelligent or with more knowledge than the norm. It just means that the person highly values the mind, thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge. And it’s frightening, to me, how few intellectuals (by that definition) I personally know. Anti-intellectuals (people who deride the mind, who pride themselves on not thinking, on not using their reason), on the other hand, are everywhere.
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I’ve skimmed over most of your posts over the last year out of curiousity, as I’ve never read anything written by an avowed athiest before.
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This basically hit’s the nail right on the head.
It’s on so many levels as well.
Highschool “nerds” are not only persecuted by peers, but loose out for the most part
on the basic human instinct of finding a mate. (Which actually happens well after highschool)
I do however disagree with religion being one of the key factors here.
Religion itself is someones personal belief of something beyond life.
The portion of religion that would condone asking of questions would be people in power.
People who didn’t want to answer these questions. (I gues nobody wants to ask God anything… wonder why)
What I mean to say is: If a person who is say buddhist is condoned for asking questions because his knowledge leads him to believe that a religious teaching was wrong, it is not the religion that does the persecution. It’s the close minded religious people around him.
Imagine if everyone took Proverbs 3:5-6 literally:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
Yes, one of the many warnings against thinking in the Bible. I remember several others…
Anti-intellectualism is the new black, man, get yourself in vogue!
Uberkuh, no shit, I just had an evangelist tell me this the other day after a protracted discussion in which he realized the only way to convince me he was right was to tell me my mind was flawed (rather than my arguments) and so I should abandon it (which I tried to point out to him was still appealing to my mind, and him relying upon his own mind to form this conclusion).
The Bible tells us on the one hand to seek wisdom, and that on the other hand, (1 Cor 3:18-20, NIV) “18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
Oh that ol’ God, he’s such a joker, always messin’ with us!
[...] Kent Newsome has commented (thanks, Blogger Web Comments) on my post about anti-intellectualism, a few days ago. And I feel I must comment on one of his comments. […] I feel compelled to point out that I don’t buy the fact that intelligence and learning are inconsistent with religion and faith. [...]
in the equilibrium or intelligence
stupidity promotes religion
much more than
religion promotes stupidity
Another example of anti-intellectualism in regards to dictatorship and autocracy was the murder of 400 people in the Katyn Forest when during the partition of Poland between the Soviet Union and the Third Reich. Each of these 400 people were potential future leaders of their nation due to their university educations, tertiary and professor positions and their positions as intellectuals within society. Probably the most visible example of anti-intellectualism of two societies that favoured mediocrity, passitivity and staying true to the party line above all else.
[...] In my opinion, anti-intellectualism is one of the world’s most serious problems these days. What is it? It’s the belief that what is good are the ‘simple people’, the ‘common people’, who are supposedly more honest and ‘real’ than so-called ‘ivory tower’ intellectuals. It’s also the belief that thinking and learning are trouble, that they lead people to unhappiness, sinfulness, asking too many questions, and such. There are several sources of anti-intellectualism. Religion is an obvious one, of course, since being intelligent and learning makes one less likely to accept arguments from authority, and to question unproven assertions. An intelligent, learned man has no need for religion – therefore, we don’t want any intelligent, learned men (to paraphrase The Fountainhead’s Elllsworth Toohey). An intellectual isn’t necessarily someone more intelligent or with more knowledge than the norm. It just means that the person highly values the mind, thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge. And it’s frightening, to me, how few intellectuals (by that definition) I personally know. Anti-intellectuals (people who deride the mind, who pride themselves on not thinking, on not using their reason), on the other hand, are everywhere. The Way of the Mind Quote: [...]
This is a subject of great significance. The fact that GWBush was elected in the first place – forgetting Florida and Ohio questions – indicates that our fellow citizens are more willing to trust a cowboy who speaks little English; has failed upward in a number of businesses; has failed to complete his Air Nat’l Guard assignment obtained through pull; and can only say in debate “More of your fuzzy logic” to a much less flawed and more reliable candidate. GHS
One interprettive clarificaiton on the Proverbs 5 quote. Solomon is not telling his son not to think. If you read the rest of Proverbs, that will become overwhelmingly obvious. What he’s saying is that in this world, circumstances will sometimes become completely overwhelming and because the human perspective is limited in scope(can’t see the future, etc), he should trust in the Lord and not purely base his reaction on his own understanding of what he sees around him. The rest of the Scriptures undoubtably promotes a thinking faith. A reasoned trust. Never are God’s people told to check their brains at the door. Any “religious” person who promotes that type of Christianity, needs to go back to the source and check it again.
“Never are God’s people told to check their brains at the door. Any “religious” person who promotes that type of Christianity, needs to go back to the source and check it again.”
Sounds like every church I’ve ever been to, and I was a military brat, so that’s a lot of churches! I was shunned precisely because I didn’t check my brain at the door, and I wasn’t an Atheist back then. I wanted to understand the Bible.
Found this with stumbleupon.
You know, well, you all already know, but oh well. There’s two types of religious folk. There’s the rational minded ones that believe their faith, but they don’t abandon all their brain just because a book tells them something. I mean, I know several people who go to church every week, believe in god, pray, and follow the commandments all that (although, being that the Ten Commandments are almost essential rules to govern any society, I don’t see how they think their ten commandments are so special). But also, they believe science. Well, I haven’t personally asked them about evolution itself, but they’re quite smart, if not in a close-minded type of way. Besides, some even think the bible is little more than a book that has stories which are relevant to life (which, in a way they are. I mean, stoning gays and burning witches isn’t really something to think is necessary in life). I mean, Aesop’s fables, but in a more story-book type setting.
Then, there’s the dreaded fanatic. Who is, in every aspect, the anti-intellectual. They will deny any evidence whatsoever if their holy book says otherwise. I swear to God, just a phrase folks, that if the Bible, just an example folks, swore all leaves were a florescent burgundy with neon hot pink highlight, they’d believe it and say that their eyes are being sinful or something absurdly foolish like that.
And so, in my conclusion, it’s not the passive believer, the one who says, well, maybe God did create the start and just let it all unfold itself, who is the problem. From my experiences, they’re rational (to an extent, mind you) people. It’s the fundamentalist we have to worry about. They almost want to bring America back into the seventeenth century; they want to burn witches, cut off arms and legs to check for signs of lycanthropy, stone the gays, and torture the non-believers. They’re the ones we should really watch out for.
Although, I do agree on the basis of your idea of intellectualism. However, it’s a thing that should be carefully maintained. I mean, up until grade two (and a half), I didn’t even know what religion was. Never heard of the stuff, didn’t know a single iota about beliefs and all that. Then I moved to my Dad’s, and his new wife was a rabid idiot and god lover. I mean, I’d get grounded for saying something like “god darn”. You know. Yet, despite her various antics to indoctrinate me, it never worked. Christianity always just didn’t seem real, right, or proper.
So. Perhaps, in an effort to stop this horrible pestilence of fundamentalism that plagues America (damn near 44% of Americans don’t believe evolution, from the last study I read, and only about 14% actually believe there is no God and that evolution happened/is a real thing. not to mention that the American citizenry is one of the least scientifically savvy in the world), this process of indoctrination could be halted by teaching a World Religions class. And no, not by a priest (ours was a lutheran, and he was so biased I’d get booted from class due to disagreements), but by an agnostic, or atheist. With a lack of belief in God/s, it’s easier to fairly teach about all religions in a rational manner. Keep science in science class.
It’s freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Why is it that every rabid fundy out there seems to think that they’re being persecuted by the ‘atheist conspiracy’? I mean, they demand that creationism be taught in schools. Sure. What about Islam? What about Buddhism? What about Shintoism? What about Norse and Greek mythology (speaking of which, why are they only ‘myths’, yet the much less believable beliefs of the Christian sects are called religion?)?
Speaking of which, why is it that churches get no/less taxes? I never understood that. I mean, they make money. They have to make money to buy all those new crosses and pews and books and robes and candles.
Although I definitely agree with you that the type of anti-intellectualism that you describe is detrimental to a society, I do think that just as you said, “An intellectual isn’t necessarily someone more intelligent or with more knowledge than the norm. It just means that the person highly values the mind, thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge,” there are more than just the kind of anti-intellectual that you describe. Sometimes people are called ‘anti-intellectual’ who simply believe that there is more to life than just facts, that sometimes the heart should rule over the mind. Like the people that Captain Rob was talking about- religious people, but who still manage to make both faith and science fit in their lives. I for one am Catholic and I believe in evolution. I can’t completely reconcile the two, but I don’t want to argue with anyone about how they should be completely incompatible- it’s my belief system, no matter how silly that may seem.
I also think that the belief that “Highschool “nerds” are not only persecuted by peers, but lose out for the most part
on the basic human instinct of finding a mate,” (Kren) is somewhat of a generalization. As a high school junior who’s top of her class, who likes to do well in school and who spends a lot of her time studying and doing schoolwork, I probably qualify as a nerd. While I do occasionally get comments of exasperation at my high grades, I have not been ‘persecuted’- my peers simply expect me to do well on schoolwork and tests, it’s as simple as that. I have, however, seen a lot of apathy in my school directed toward learning. Many of the kids simply don’t care about school and learning- but those who get high scores are more admired than persecuted; a failing grade is, if not a badge of shame, not something to brag about.
I definitely agree from what I’ve seen first hand in my school that anti-intellectualism, at least in the form of that complete apathy towards education, learning, and a lack of overall effort in almost anything is a big problem in today’s society.
Just another guy who dislikes ignorance and people who let the religions of man control their lives and behavior still today!
If there is a god or the creator of us then he made us who we are in his image and his way of knowing the difference and I believe that all we have is what is a natural borne gift of knowing right from wrong and the love for another such as your mother and this is a borne with religion of man and god because why else would these traits be incorporated into us without any other external influences such as the religions that we have in the world today!
As children we are pure and innocent without direction as already from birth we know good from bad and this is not a lesson to be learned so why don’t we believe in our selves for once and stop being the puppets of society and the religion that want to control us for reasons of they just can’t break the chain that binds them!
This is a direct sign of weakness in our species as not to be able go through life without having to look for guidance from above as they say.
If he is the creator then we are as “he” and why would he leave us alone on a planet called Earth if he didn’t trust us and believe in us that we would be OK with what he gave us at birth in the image of himself?
Believe in yourself and you will be with God because I would think he would be happy to know that you have intelligence enough to know the difference between worshiping the sun or nothing at all!
Jesus was a man, Mohammed was man and so am I but they are dead and I am alive today taking care of my family and just doing what is right from within my mind and not my heart because that is just like dumb to think that your heart has anything to do with it!
And about Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. and his middle name it is just another stupid topic because it sounds to be Islamic and he is running for president in a predominately Christian country and for some stupid reason it is taboo to speak it as not to offend anybody! I must say I am embarrassed to think that we as intelligent people are so stupid to let this kind of shit govern our lives every day!
How will we survive if we have the influences of Islam now controlling the media in the United States and what we say and do? After what the Islamic idiots did on 911
We are screwed if we don’t get a grip with reality!
Adios
good article.
a couple of commenters have used buddhism as an example of religion and anti-intellectualsm. while i would agree that faiths such as christianity and islam can be classified as such, buddhism does not fit well as an example as buddhist are taught to question thier faith…in fact buddha even commented (to paraphrase) dont believe what i say just because i say it, examine the world around you…keep what fits discard the rest. in this aspect buddhism encourages intellectualism by rejecting dogma and encouraging people to examine the world to find thier path.
[...] from Way of the Mind: In my opinion, anti-intellectualism is one of the world’s most serious problems, these [...]
We should consider how marketing in our consumerist society is encouraging ant-intellectualism. It would seem that there is a successful elite that to maintain their success they encourage their consumers to be non-rational in their life choices. I would suggest that fundamentalist religion is not the only section of our society that is encouraging anti-intellectualism. And potentially this aspect of the issue has a greater impact on our future. I sound populist don’t I? Could the Business Intellectual Elite be laying the foundation for their own demise?