In a message dated 00-09-24 14:42:18 EDT, millerpa@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< This is precisely the kind of elitism that Foucault's concept of the
specific intellectual was meant to guard against. As his work in prisons and
elsewhere show, he never assumed that the intellectuals knew the truth and
others lived the lie. That kind of hubris is of the same vintage as
Cheney's. >>
Nor am I assuming that intellectuals have access to the "truth," if such a
thing exists in absolute terms, and the rest live a lie. But pragmatically
speaking, look at the REAL world. There are many not-so-bright individuals
who get sucked in by the hype, and that's not always a bad thing. Why is
advertising a multi-billion dollar industry? Is it because they inform us?
Hardly. There are many intellectuals who get drawn into hype as well. But a
simple fact is this; most individuals need to be led, if one wants what most
people would describe as a civilized society. Although I'm not sure that's
what I want, that's irrelevant. Besides, who decided that Foucault was right?
Isn't he just another master of word-play, not unlike the
advertising/political/religion industries?
John
<< This is precisely the kind of elitism that Foucault's concept of the
specific intellectual was meant to guard against. As his work in prisons and
elsewhere show, he never assumed that the intellectuals knew the truth and
others lived the lie. That kind of hubris is of the same vintage as
Cheney's. >>
Nor am I assuming that intellectuals have access to the "truth," if such a
thing exists in absolute terms, and the rest live a lie. But pragmatically
speaking, look at the REAL world. There are many not-so-bright individuals
who get sucked in by the hype, and that's not always a bad thing. Why is
advertising a multi-billion dollar industry? Is it because they inform us?
Hardly. There are many intellectuals who get drawn into hype as well. But a
simple fact is this; most individuals need to be led, if one wants what most
people would describe as a civilized society. Although I'm not sure that's
what I want, that's irrelevant. Besides, who decided that Foucault was right?
Isn't he just another master of word-play, not unlike the
advertising/political/religion industries?
John