doc111
Well-Known Member
I got a little training as well. I've not needed it since I left the military and hope I never have to use it.SOK.... I have some too.Very well trained as well.
Intellectuals & Society - Thomas Sowell
- Thread starter RickWhite
- Start date
CrackerJax
New Member
There's the difference... we don't want to use them...
No desperation here... I think my way past my obstacles.
No desperation here... I think my way past my obstacles.
Patrick Bateman
Active Member
Well if I understand your definition of morons (intellectuals?) as this thread suggests
Then sign me up lol
You're right I did make an unfair assumption about the book, this thread has sparked my interest in reading it
Oh and please stop copy pasting, I realize it is easier but there is such a thing as being concise
But let's get a consensus of what an intellectual is
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence (thought and reason) and critical or analytical thinking, either in a professional or a personal capacity.
As in void of emotional attachment
There is no validity in equating a religious ideal with an intellectual idea, as religion is largely based on an emotional void
I realize he is trying to establish the influence an idea can have, however he indirectly does make that connection which your average reader may not pick up on
Also this notion of ideas holding less value because of intangibility is stupid
I realize that theory and practice are two distinct entities
However, ideas which affect a majority are better thought by people who cognitively assess their own thinking process in the drawing of conclusions than by those who seek a visceral emotional response
I recognize Sowell makes a some valid points though for someone who relies heavily on empiricism the notion the net balance of contributions by intellectuals is negative is vague at best
RickWhite
Well-Known Member
You are off by light years.
Sowell is speaking not of all people of intellect, but of a subset of professional intellectuals who are not responsible for the outcome or quality of their ideas. One of the largest groups would be those in academia, specifically in the liberal arts. In the book he goes on to point out that in such circles one often gains prestige by making outrageous claims and because such claims are never tested or objectively measured by any standard save for like minded people, they are never challenged. And if you think these types of people analyze their own thought process you need to pull your head out of your ass. These are people who specifically put themselves into positions in which their hair brained thinking is never challenged. That is the whole point. There is zero risk of challenge to a radical Left idea in a university liberal arts department. That is why Liberals flock to these places. There is no pressure to produce results and one is free to spew garbage. The more outrageous, the better in most cases.
You should look at who Thomas Sowell is and what he has done.
hanimmal
Well-Known Member
I just read your other thread Rick and thought it was really good. But this one, well this is garbage.
The whole 'intellectual' bashing is played.
You try to link them to all the evil in the world, when you seem to fail to realize is that those 'evil' dictators, where dictators, and they surrounded themselves with people that had to agree with them, or die. They take bits and pieces of information and mash it into whatever it is that they want it to be (like what happens to religion).
To then go in and say that intellectuals do the same thing, is a stretch. Because as any college ranking guide will show you, publishing papers is very important to how well the universities rank. And publishing papers is a huge critic process, that may quickly dismantle any 'ideas' that someone spouts.
Very little knowledge is taken for granted, and it is even worse for people that put their head out there by spouting tv talking points, political garbage, or flavor of the month political writings, they will get about a round or two of debating in before they run out of information, and become exposed for not really knowing what they are talking about. Then they feel ganged up on, and bitch about 'liberal universities'.
That has nothing to do with a 'liberal' university, and everything to do with bringing a knife to a gun fight.
The whole 'intellectual' bashing is played.
You try to link them to all the evil in the world, when you seem to fail to realize is that those 'evil' dictators, where dictators, and they surrounded themselves with people that had to agree with them, or die. They take bits and pieces of information and mash it into whatever it is that they want it to be (like what happens to religion).
To then go in and say that intellectuals do the same thing, is a stretch. Because as any college ranking guide will show you, publishing papers is very important to how well the universities rank. And publishing papers is a huge critic process, that may quickly dismantle any 'ideas' that someone spouts.
Very little knowledge is taken for granted, and it is even worse for people that put their head out there by spouting tv talking points, political garbage, or flavor of the month political writings, they will get about a round or two of debating in before they run out of information, and become exposed for not really knowing what they are talking about. Then they feel ganged up on, and bitch about 'liberal universities'.
That has nothing to do with a 'liberal' university, and everything to do with bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Patrick Bateman
Active Member
lol Sowell should quit hiding behind the guise of the word "intellectual" and call them for what he really thinks they are if I am to understand your interpretation - Liberal Elites
And the first thing I am struck by is that he if profiting from the very thing he is railing against
Guess you didn't think of that huh?
RickWhite
Well-Known Member
Actually, Sowell was on the Dennis Prager show and Prager ribbed him a bit about being an intellectual and writing a book criticizing intellectuals - they both had a good laugh.
If you have never read one of Sowell's many books you ought to. "The vision of the anointed" was nothing short of a master piece and "race and culture" was hugely informative debunking many myths. The man really is a genius.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1OOSKBR9O8
If you have never read one of Sowell's many books you ought to. "The vision of the anointed" was nothing short of a master piece and "race and culture" was hugely informative debunking many myths. The man really is a genius.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1OOSKBR9O8
CrackerJax
New Member
Sowell is perhaps the smartest man in the USA .... he's that smart.