The cult of simplicity. How to distinguish a snob from an intellectual?
There is an opinion that if a person likes to read Castaneda or Kundera, or Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, and this person does not like Justin Bieber and Nikki Minaj's songs, then this person is Snob.
An absurd and funny snob.
He wrinkles his nose in a state of arrogant disgust and has no tolerance.
"Oh, we all know about these! He flaunts - in order to “rise above the mass”, artificially elevates himself, invents a certain “elitism” of his image. And he does this just to distance himself from people."
And now he is hiding from “real life” behind obscure terms, complex words, the names of little-known directors.
He probably has no sex either. Yes, everything is clear here.
Because sex is on this side of life, and Nietzsche is on the other.
But the fact is that real life is complex and voluminous.
And she is proportionate to complex feelings, complex words and very often just silence. And Nietzsche writes about this life, Kundera and Castaneda writes about this life.
When I first started reading something like this for a long time, I didn’t enter into dialogue with people.
No, I did not become a snob.
I was simply amazed that SUCH has been said by someone for a long time, even recorded and how can we then live so stupidly, so evilly and mediocre?
Around us is a cult of simplicity, a cult of simplification of everything. Simplifications to so mundane that human intelligence is no longer needed. It can be sold as unnecessary on the website of used goods. And you can spend this money on new nails or eyelashes.
Well, I'm partial to both sex and existentialist philosophy, so I guess that makes me half a snob, right? :D
I think some intellectuals have a snobbish way about them, and that's just the way they are. I don't think we should criminalize or make assumptions about people, but I get it - people prone to thinking, reading and studying a lot can feel a bit above the rest. Happens to the best of us.
What you say about simplification and simplicity is undoubtedly true - society is undergoing a massive dumbing down. And if you think about it, that coincides with a moment in history when much of our complex knowledge is within grasp of anybody with a smartphone. It's ironic how few of us realize the potential of that.
Yet, feeling above this people just because they haven't had the education, or the willingness, to delve deeper into the meaning of life, might be partly cause of the problems of our society. We create a wall between what we perceive to be at our level and what we perceive as lower, but if you think about it, every single one of us must deal with the fact that we are human. We all deal with concepts such as life and death, god and beyond. Maybe some of us don't like to think about it, but if guided, if taught to, everyone of us is capable of deeper thoughts.
I like to think I can engage with people. Not on massive social networks, not in places where they divide in groups and yell at each other, but one-by-one. I like to think I can enjoy the best of both worlds - reading philosophy and spending a night pondering about myself on the one hand, watching soccer in company of a cold beer on the other - and not have to choose between simplicity and the big mysteries of life.
I like your thoughts.
I think that it was much more difficult to “get” information before than now. Today you don’t even need to get out of a chair to enroll in courses or start an education. But the paradox is that rarely does anyone think about it and use it rationally, to the fullest.
I am not against "ordinary" things - this decorates our lives. Funny evenings with friends, hanging out late at night, sex. But it would be great to combine this with the opportunities that modern society gives us, to invest in ourselves, to engage in self-knowledge.
Unfortunately, not many people have this balance.
You speak the truth :D
You're right, I've personally found pretty hard to find that balance in myself and in others. It is, I believe, the nature of mankind to be part instinct and part reason, and I think it's easier to advertise to someone's instinct rather than their intellectual side. Therefore, that's what's being sold to us, and that, in part, is why society is what it is today.
But finding that balance is not impossible, especially if we're not alone in that, even though, as you were saying in another comment, some activities that we consider "intellectual" push us toward isolationism.
I think we’ve taken tribalism and bastardized it into something unrecognisable instead of seeing us as dynamic beings with a wide range of interests and talents we try to pigeon hole people and force them into categories
I don’t see why you can’t regal in deep tbought but also like to enjoy pop culture stuff! Twerk if you want that’s up to you
I think that a little bit of centrism or rather people saying hey I’m on the fence about this or I like both these things will help bridge the gap between various polarizing ideals
I’ll be right there with you discussing how nicki’s songs might have a deeper meaning that she didn’t even know is there 😋😋
The fact of the matter is that there is no balance. For example, if I believe that pop culture is not for me and instead I choose a new book, then this does not make me:
I think the whole reason is that people think very categorically. One part is constantly trying to find a deep meaning in books and isolate itself from society, which is also not entirely true, and the other part does not remember the last time I read a book, not comics (I have nothing against comics).
Life is wonderful in that we have the opportunity to combine one and the other side. If this were more, then perhaps we would no longer hear the word "snob."