by mercator » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:10 am
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>What if people were actually exposed to these philosophical matters and content with a least a reasonable degree of regularity, but much more importantly, with widely tolerated imagination and genuine perspective, instead of What I have recently come to recognise as the greatest con trick of all - "The other"<br><br>Do you not think that people would not at least "switch on" just a little bit more ?</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>Maybe more, maybe less; "switching on" intellectually isn't the only way to "switch on". The only thing I'm certain of is that real intellectual talent would still be in relatively short supply. In William Morris' utopist fantasy <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>News from Nowhere</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, few people exhibit any interest in history, let alone arcane theoretical research. Most members of Nowhere's ideal collectivist society, including the rare intellectuals, go in for healthy outdoor activities like haymaking; bookworms are regarded as morbid curiosities, to be teased a bit, but generally tolerated rather than encouraged (except to do more haymaking, which one apparently can't get enough of). Of course, people are free to do as they like, and if that means consorting with dust in the Bodleian, so be it. And there is no hunger, prison, authority, or religion. In the circumstances, few turn to Tacitus' <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Annals</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, and even fewer to <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>The Critique of Pure Reason</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br> <p></p><i></i>
