Rants

Tell us how you really feel.

Submit your own picture, video, or story for uPICK here.

Genius? Perhaps not.

Up +33 Down

This may be along the straw man line of reasoning but more of an aggregate, but I am sick of people thinking that simply reading some work of philosophy or other eclectic topic makes them a genius and so well informed of the greater world. First of all, you sit in public spaces with Rouseau, Locke, Aristotle or some other great thinker splayed out on your lap like that is enough to convince people you have something interesting to say. You don't. You spend most of your time regurgitating the most popular quotes from the book without adding context or critique, nor following the line of reasoning which led to their conclusions. Real philosophers sat in dark rooms, isolated from the distractions of the public and lived lonely shut in lives. They were modest and ashamed of their own unique views on the world because the body public did not have a concensus view of their opinions, and that is what they offered, opinions with their rationale. If the public did, it wouldn't be a cherished masterpiece that changed the way people view the world it, it would have been the equivalent of the latest pop culture rag. Second, rolling joints off the pages doesn't contribute to your understanding of the material. A sober mind is required to comprehend sober thoughts. Third, an open display of books you clearly have never read does not contribute to your image as the wizened youth. Wisdom comes from having tried and failed and coming up with a solution to why you failed and trying again, perhaps failing perhaps not. You cannot obtain wisdom by reading someone else's works and believing you have seen the boundaries of the universe through them. The written word is meant to inspire, not instruct, though it offers instructions only as a way for you to be confidently inspired. Fourth, plenty of those philosophers and theorists are completely batshit crazy, their ideas cannot work in reality, because it implies either a) public stupidity and willingness to cooperate (Marx) or, b) absolute anarchic intent of the human heart. Neither of which has ever proven wholly true, except in special circumstances and only temporarily. So please, if you want to be a philosopher, preaching world peace offer solutions, not plagiarized rants. Understand how the world works first, find the leverage points, and then an appropriate lever to move it. Otherwise, you're just another future disgruntled grocery store clerk with a college degree the world will never understand. Ever wonder why those people start revolutions for Utopia, and find themselves the first in front of the firing squad? Its because they are impractical idiots who only offer rhetoric and not results. That is the public plagiarist philosopher today, and the corpse tomorrow.

Bradley J Edwards | February 1, 2013

« Previous Random Next »

Recommended
Comments ()