Intellectual
moron
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A possible representation of an intellectual moron: the teacher who incorrectly belittles his student, based on his academic position. |
In
education, intellectual moron, "pseudo-intellectual"
(Daniel Flynn, 2004) or "learned ignorance" (Nicholas of Cusa,
c.1640) refers to a smart person
—one with high levels of learning and or a high said-to-be IQ—
who lets ideology do his or her thinking,
who forgoes independent judgment in favor of having their views handed to them,
have their mind on autopilot,
often being so blinded to reality by the causes they serve that
they espouse bizarre, sometimes ridiculous, in many cases contradictory and or
dangerous positions. [1]
An intellectual moron, in short, refers to one who is both a moron (IQ=50-69)
and an intellectual (IQ=120+),
a blend of the two.
An intellectual moron, by lecture definition, according to term-coiner Daniel
Flynn,
is someone who has great cognitive abilities,
but who relies on ideology rather than his or her brain to
do their thinking. [2]
A ripe example of a so-called “intellectual moron”, according to Daniel Flynn,
author of the 2004 of the same name, include Australian moral philosopher
professor Peter Singer, professor of “bioethics” at Princeton, the so-called
godfather of the animal rights movement, who objects to humans eating animals,
but not to humans having sex with them, a
logic based on his speciesism views. [3]
There is no doubt
that someone could transform into a moron in such a field,
being that firstly “bio” is something that does not exist (see: defunct theory of life),
and secondly that “ethics”, for 75% of the world is based
on Anunian theology and the weighing of
the soul model of morality; whereas correctly, as Goethe so
rightly discerned in 1808 morality or rather the moral symbols of nature are
rooted in science of physical chemistry.
Hence, one not literate in physical chemistry, such as is the case with Singer,
may very well tread down the path towards moronville.
Related or synonymous terms might be what Nicholas of Cusa refers to has “learned
ignorance”, a learned person in blind possession of ignorance; or possibly what Flynn calls a
‘pseudo-intellectual’.
References
1. Flynn, Daniel J. (2004). Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes
Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas (abs). Crown Forum.
2. Flynn, Daniel J. (2004). “Intellectual Morons” (video), Talk at Colby College,
C-Span2 BookTv, Oct 27.
3. Peter Singer – Wikipedia.
Intellectual Morons Quotes
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Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for
Stupid Ideas by Daniel J. Flynn
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Intellectual Morons Quotes (showing 1-2 of 2)
“What never fails inside the mind of
an intellectual never works outside the confines of his head. The world’s
stubborn refusal to vindicate the intellectual’s theories serves as proof of
humanity’s irrationality, not his own. Thus, the true believer retrenches
rather than rethinks; he launches a war on the world, denying reality because
it fails to conform to his theories. If intellectuals are not prepared to
reconcile theory and practice, then why do they bother to venture outside the
ivory tower or the coffeehouse? Why not stay in the world of abstractions and
fantasy?”
― Daniel J. Flynn, Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for
Stupid Ideas
tags: conservative, intellectuals, philosophy, politics
“Like the Critical Theory of the
Frankfurt School, postmodernism seeks to institutionalize dishonesty as a
legitimate school of thought. The idea of truth as the ultimate goal of the
intellectual is discarded. In its place, scholars are asked to pursue political
objectives--so long as those political objectives are the 'correct' ones.
Postmodernism is not fringe within the community of scholars. It is central.
This tells us a great deal about the life of the mind today. Peruse any
university course catalogue, and you find names like Foucault, Derrida, and
Barthes. Scour the footnotes of scholarly books and journals and a similar
story unfolds. With the primacy of philosophies--postmodernism, Critical
Theory, and even the right-leaning Straussianism--that exalt dishonesty in the
service of supposedly noble causes, is it at all surprising that liars like
Alfred Kinsey, Rigoberta Menchu, Alger Hiss, and Margaret Sanger have achieved
a venerated status among the intellectuals?”
― Daniel J. Flynn, Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for
Stupid Ideas