NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...

The Stone is featuring occasional posts by Gary Gu
tting, a professor of philosophy at the University
of Notre Dame, that apply critical thinking to in
formation and events that have appeared in the new
s.
The rise of Newt Gingrich, Ph.D.— along with the a
pparent anti-intellectualism of many of the other
Republican candidates — has once again raised the
question of the role of intellectuals in American
politics.
In writing about intellectuals, my temptation is t
o begin by echoing Marianne Moore on poetry: I, to
o, dislike them. But that would be a lie: all els
e equal, I really like intellectuals. Besides, I’
m an intellectual myself, and their self-deprecati
on is one thing I really do dislike about many int
ellectuals.
What is an intellectual? In general, someone seri
ously devoted to what used to be called the “life
of the mind”: thinking pursued not instrumentally,
for the sake of practical goals, but simply for t
he sake of knowing and understanding. Nowadays, u
niversities are the most congenial spots for intel
lectuals, although even there corporatism and care
erism are increasing threats.
Intellectuals tell us things we need to know: how
nature and society work, what happened in our past
, how to analyze concepts, how to appreciate art a
nd literature. They also keep us in conversation
with the great minds of our past. This conversat
ion may not, as some hope, tap into a source of en
during wisdom, but it at least provides a critical
standpoint for assessing the limits of our curren
t cultural assumptions.
In his “Republic,” Plato put forward the ideal of
a state ruled by intellectuals who combined compre
hensive theoretical knowledge with the practical c