Why Knowledge and Logic Are Political Dirty Words

Twitter Linkedin Sign In to E-Mail or Save This Print Share

By MICHIKO KAK TA!I P"#lished$ Mar%h &&' ())* There are +ew s"#,e%ts -ore ti-ely than the one ta%kled #y S"san .a%o#y in her new #ook' /The Age o+ A-eri%an nreason'0 in whi%h she asserts that /A-eri%a is now ill with a 1ower+"l -"tant strain o+ intertwined ignoran%e' anti-rationalis- and anti-intelle%t"alis-20

Chris 3a-ire4 S"san .a%o#y THE AGE OF AMERI A! "!REA#O! By S"san .a%o#y 567 1ages2 Pantheon Books2 8(72

Related

D$%& and D$%&er' Are A%ericans Hostile to Knowledge( )Fe&r$ary *+, -../0 Ti%es To1ics' #$san 2aco&y
An E9%er1t +ro- :The Age o+ A-eri%an nreason ;or -ore than a de%ade there have #een growing sy-1to-s o+ this a++li%tion' +ro+"nda-entalist assa"lts on the tea%hing o+ evol"tion to the B"sh ad-inistration<s will+"l disavowal o+ e91ert o1inion on glo#al war-ing and strategies +or 1rose%"ting the war in Ira=2 Conservatives have t"rned the ter- /intelle%t"al'0 like the ter- / li#eral'0 into a dirty word in 1oliti%s >even tho"gh neo-%onservative intelle%t"als 1layed a +or-ative role in -aking the %ase +or war against Ira=?@ 1oli%y 1ositions tend to get less attention than 1ersonality and ta%ti%s in the %"rrent 1residential %a-1aign@ and the de-o%rati4ing in+l"en%e o+ the Internet is working to #anish e91ertise altogether' -aking everyone an a"thority on everything2 Traditional 1oli%y %hannels involving %are+"l analysis and de#ate have #een %ir%"-vented #y the B"sh Ahite Ho"se in +avor o+ #old' g"t-level %alls' and reasoned 1"#li% dis%"ssions have in%reasingly given way to noisy 1artisan war+are a-ong 1oliti%ians' %o--entators and #loggers alike2 Meanwhile' st"dies show that A-eri%an st"dents are +alling #ehind st"dents +ro- other develo1ed %o"ntries in s%ien%e and -ath' and that ignoran%e o+ #asi% %ivi%s %lass +"nda-entals' not to -ention #asi% li#eral arts %on%e1ts' is wides1read2 Ms2 .a%o#y notes that two-thirds o+ A-eri%ans %annot na-e the three #ran%hes o+ govern-ent or %o-e "1 with the na-e o+ a single S"1re-e Co"rt ,"sti%e2 She %ites one s"rvey +inding that A-eri%an &6-year-olds rank (Bth o"t o+ those +ro- (C %o"ntries in -athe-ati%al litera%y' and another indi%ating that only 6D 1er%ent o+ ad"lt A-eri%ans had read a non+i%tion #ook in a year2 In /A-eri%an nreason0 Ms2 .a%o#y' the a"thor o+ earlier #ooks like /;reethinkers$ A History o+ A-eri%an Se%"laris-'0 1ro1oses to anato-i4e this dis-aying 1heno-enon' while sit"ating it in histori%al %onte9t2 Her #ook is s-art' well resear%hed and +re="ently %ogent E 1arti%"larly in looking at the %a"ses o+ A-eri%an anti-intelle%t"alis-' 1ast and 1resent E #"t ,"st as o+ten the -aterial is overly +a-iliar' #landly re1rising arg"-ents -ade #y 3i%hard Ho+stadter in /Anti-Intelle%t"alis- in A-eri%an Li+e'0 #y !eil Post-an in /A-"sing O"rselves to Feath'0 and other' -ore re%ent st"dies' while +ailing to 1"ll these o#servations together into a %oherent' new arg"-ent2 Al Gore<s ())D #ook' /The Assa"lt on 3eason'0 did a #etter ,o# than this vol"-e in 1roviding an "1-to-date inventory o+ 1oliti%al and %"lt"ral develo1-ents re+le%ting the de%line o+ reason in o"r national dis%o"rse' while Andrew Keen<s re%ent #ook' /The C"lt o+ the A-ate"r'0 1rovided a -ore detailed and original assess-ent o+ the downside o+ the Ae#<s /wisdo- o+ the %rowd20 In addition' Ms2 .a%o#y' like Mr2 Keen' %an so"nd

-oralisti% at ti-es' ass"-ing the very tone that anti-intelle%t"als 1oint to when 1"tting down intelle%t"al elitists2 As Ms2 .a%o#y sees it' there are several key reasons +or /the res"rgent A-eri%an antiintelle%t"alis- o+ the 1ast () years20 To #egin with' television' video ga-es and the Internet have %reated a /%"lt"re o+ distra%tion0 that has shortened attention s1ans and le+t 1eo1le with /less ti-e and desire0 +or /two h"-an a%tivities %riti%al to a +r"it+"l and de-anding intelle%t"al li+e$ reading and %onversation20 The e%li1se o+ 1rint %"lt"re #y video %"lt"re #egan in the &C7)s' Ms2 .a%o#y arg"es' adding that the as%endan%e o+ yo"th %"lt"re in that de%ade also 1ro-oted an attit"de denigrating the i-1ortan%e o+ tradition' history and knowledge2 By the <*)s' she goes on' sel+-ed"%ation was giving way to sel+-i-1rove-ent' %ore %"rri%"l"-s were giving way to %lasses intended to #oost sel+-estee-' and old-+ashioned striving a+ter a%hieve-ent was giving way to a ra#id 1"rs"it o+ %ele#rity and +a-e2 The old -iddle#row %"lt"re' whi%h 1ri4ed in+or-ation and as1iration E and whi%h -ani+ested itsel+' d"ring the 1ost-Aorld Aar II years' in a growing n"-#er o+ -"se"-s and sy-1hony or%hestras' and a Book-o+-the-Month %l"# avidity +or reading E was re1la%ed #y a -ass %"lt"re that revolved aro"nd television and #lo%k#"ster -ovies and ro%k -"si%2 It was also in the <7)s' Ms2 .a%o#y writes' that a res"rgent +"nda-entalis- /re%eived a ,olt o+ adrenaline +ro- #oth the %ivil rights laws0 in the early years o+ that de%ade and the later /%"lt"ral re#ellions20 She s"%%in%tly re%ords the long history o+ +"nda-entalis- in A-eri%a' arg"ing that 1oorly ed"%ated settlers on the +rontier were drawn to religio"s %reeds that 1rovided e-otional %o-+ort witho"t intelle%t"al de-ands' ,"st as /the A-eri%an e91eri-ent in %o-1lete religio"s li#erty led large n"-#ers o+ A-eri%ans to e-#ra%e antirational' anti-intelle%t"al +or-s o+ +aith20 She is less s"%%ess+"l' however' in e91laining why' in the (&st %ent"ry' A-eri%ans re-ain so -"%h -ore religio"s than the rest o+ the develo1ed world' and why -atters like a#ortion' ho-ose9"al -arriage' ste- %ell resear%h and the tea%hing o+ evol"tion E whi%h are not 1arti%"larly divisive in an in%reasingly se%"lar E"ro1e E have #e%o-e wedge iss"es in the nited States2 The other thing that sets A-eri%a a1art +ro- E"ro1e' Ms2 .a%o#y arg"es' is this %o"ntry<s insisten%e on lo%al %ontrol o+ s%hools' whi%h -eans that /%hildren in the 1oorest areas o+ the %o"ntry wo"ld have the worst s%hool +a%ilities and tea%hers with the worst training0 and that /the %ontent o+ ed"%ation in the -ost #a%kward areas o+ the %o"ntry wo"ld #e deter-ined #y #a%kward 1eo1le20 /In E"ro1e'0 she writes' /the s"#,e%t -atter o+ s%ien%e and history lessons ta"ght to %hildren in all 1"#li%ly s"11orted s%hools has always #een deter-ined #y highly ed"%ated e-1loyees o+ %entral ed"%ation -inistries2 In A-eri%a the i-age o+ an ed"%ated elite laying down national g"idelines +or s%hools was and is a #Hte noire +or those who %onsider lo%al %ontrol o+ ed"%ation a right al-ost as sa%red as any o+ the rights en"-erated in the Constit"tion20

The ignoran%e res"lting +ro- the a#sen%e o+ national ed"%ation standards' %o-#ined with the res"rgent anti-intelle%t"alis- now a#road in the land' Ms2 .a%o#y %on%l"des in this "se+"l i+ less than ele%tri+ying vol"-e' is dangero"s +or any %o"ntry' #"t es1e%ially dangero"s +or a de-o%ra%y2 As Tho-as .e++erson on%e wrote' /I+ a nation e91e%ts to #e ignorant and +ree' in a state o+ %ivili4ation' it e91e%ts what never was and never will #e20