In this age where there are more voices than ears, more books than readers, and more ease than willingness to learn, it is unlikely that a true intellectual authority will rise up and achieve the prestige of a Voltaire, a Goethe, or a Walter Scott. The attention he would garner for himself would at most be fleeting, and he would therefore hardly enjoy the solid and lasting recognition that great intellectuals have enjoyed in other times. This shows but one characteristic of this age of diffuse and uninterrupted bombarded attention. It is to be feared what can come of an age not only lacking true authorities, but guided by false ones; but, in any case, what one must conclude is that, to the intellectual, everything has become considerably better.
Tag: behavior
The “Popularization” of Science
Burckhardt asks, in his Reflections on History, what would result from the unexpected “popularization” of science that took place in the 19th century. Here we are… The science that Burckhardt was referring to is no longer the same. It was degraded from the moment it let itself be stripped of its noble purpose and allowed to be applied to vile interests. It has been distorted into a kind of authority that goes against the humility characteristic of truly scientific research, profaned as a political instrument, servile to the dictatorship of money, and can no longer be looked upon with the admiration of other days. The scientific arena itself, even if we insulate it from external influences, is corroded by conflicts of interest comparable to those in politics. For that matter, what has not become corrupted after the “popular” ascension? Even Burckhardt, with his noble and radical abhorrence of the money-making culture and the budding plutocracy, would be amazed to see how dangerous it has become today to ignore the social and economic impacts of possible scientific research. The summary: nothing resists “popularization”.
It Is Truly Amazing How the Years…
It is truly amazing how the years, which seem like nothing, which pass imperceptibly, disfigure reality to a point where there is not a single remnant left of what once was. So close one century to the other, and sometimes so disparate as to be unrecognizable. Anyone who makes a thorough analysis of the customs of past eras will be amazed, to the same extent as if someone from the past could catch a glimpse of the future. In both cases, a mixture of strangeness, repulsion, incomprehension and astonishment. Astonishment because, in theory, the human species has always consisted of men. However, for sociology, it is possible to describe men from different times as distinct species.
To Be Normal…
To be normal, absolutely normal, one must first go to a psychologist. Only he is capable of putting a lost soul on the path to normality. Next, one must live in such a way as to spend at least half of one’s useful time working. Every day, one must expose oneself to the salutary radiation of a television. Remedies for anxiety, depression, and cholesterol should complement a diet centered on industrialized products. Social injustices should inspire the deepest indignation, and the State should be obeyed regardless of the circumstances. Next to the pillow, a self-help book. And the mind repeating the mantra: “I can”.