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noname223

Archangel
Aug 18, 2020
6,763
The answer might be almost all public intellectuals. And not only the ones who hang out with Epstein to get inspired by him.

Seriously, I think many scientists/ non-public intellectuals see public intellectuals critical. Because they often talk about things they are not expert in. They say they often don't show humility and many were grifters.

I think Jordan Peterson is a grifter. Even though some psychological advices helped me temporarily. But eventually the things Slavoj Zizek replied to him in this famous debates described my problems way better and offered a solution.

Peterson focuses on the individual who was to work on one's personality, acknowledging what society offers and one needs the will to contribute to society. Zizek position was what if you are in North Korea cleaning your room and all the other virtues are worth nothing if there are systemic roots for your unhappiness. I think he wanted to allude to the capitalistic world we are living in where there are systemic reasons why people can't make it. Personally, I find some of Peterson's advices cynical. But they motivated me. (to torture me further).

Who am I to criticize them. I don't even have a bachelor degree. Lol. There are some intellectuals that just bore me. The way they talk. For example, I listened today to a lecture of Peter Sloterdijk and I just cannot listen to this dude. I know Zizek likes him. But he annoys me. I don't think he is overrated. Not necessarily but I just can't listen to him.
I like when intellectuals emphasize empirical evidence and also emphasize when there is a research gap and uncertainty. The German philosopher Philipp Hübel does that. He also adapted his opinion on a culture war topic because there were new empirical findings.

I think public intellectuals are a necessary evil. There is a need for them. But they often don't get respect by researches. It is also difficult to mediate extremely complicated topics to a mass audience.

The biggest German grifter is Richard David Precht. I once liked him until I realized that. I considered to read a book of him and experts warned that it is very mediocre.

My favorite intellectuals are David Foster Wallace and Slavoj Zizek.

I haven't heard much positive about Harari. For college I worked on a paper about Mearsheimer The Israel Lobby. The lecturer wanted me to write that the book is sort of antisemitic. Honestly, I didn't have the feeling it was antisemitic and I wrote a different critiique. I considered to write a thesis on Zizek. But I quit college because my mental health was horrible. And Zizek is too complicated anyway. It was a too ambitious project and I knew that.

In German newspapers and journals you read a lot of Hannah Arendt articles. I think it is her 120th birthday. Many people criticized her work when she published it. But the evaluation of her legacy changed drastically.
 
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DarkRange55

DarkRange55

🎂
Oct 15, 2023
2,421


Watch that 🇩🇪
 
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noname223

Archangel
Aug 18, 2020
6,763


Watch that 🇩🇪

I think I already posted such a thread and you commented that video Lol. I am also repetitive. I remember it now.

The ad in the video was disappointing I don't trust experts with a conflict of interest. But it was also sort of meta. A fake ad would have been better though.
 
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Dejected 55

Dejected 55

Visionary
May 7, 2025
2,644
The problem is... vying for public attention runs counter to what being driven by intelligence means.

A true intellectual would be driven by truth and knowledge, wherever that leads. Public attention is driven by popularity. Truth may or may not be popular. Being right may or may not be popular. Performance is more popular than content. It is almost impossible to be true to intellectual thought AND be popular.

Sometimes someone pulls it off... there have been some smart people who have just the right personality who find an audience without having to compromise their intellectual pursuits... but even then, they are nowhere near as popular as people who will spew outright nonsense in a more entertaining way.
 
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N Seeker

Member
Feb 7, 2026
21
Plus one to Foster Wallace. I also admire Sigmunt Bauman. Plato is overrated, but if we restrict ourselves to modern times, I am not sure who to choose... Peterson is too obvious.
 
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Blackthorne

Member
Jan 30, 2026
53
Obviously everyone I happen to disagree with.

True thinkers are almost never popular. Certainly not until long after their death and being known by name or having a reputation for difficulty doesn't equal popularity. Especially in this day and age of the internet and 'social' media everyone and their mother think they know what they're talking about. Being known as an intellectual by the masses is pretty much a guarantee you're not.

I personally don't bother reading contemporary philosophers or contemporary writers in general. The chance of it proving a waste of time is simply too high.

If I have to be pedantic and pretend like my opinion matters much and sticking to a field I know rather well I'd say Heidegger. He's the only philosopher so far I simply cannot for the life of me comprehend: it's either postulating simple truths known to man since the dawn of humanity (e.g. Sein zum Tode) wrapped in extreme verbosity/endless neologisms or he really was an intellectual fraud like many suspect. Then again it could just be me. Who am I to judge? History will tell. As always.

Like I said I don't bother with the 'public intellectuals' of the day but you hear/read things here and there. Including a certain Canadian former professor of psychology who seems to think he's an expert in fields he did not study and he cannot possibly have mastered on his own given the time he's been on earth. When you're told you're wrong by actual experts in a field that isn't your own you might take notice.
 
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