Wielded by an expert, the sharp sword of rationality cuts deep, exposing underlying layers of confusion, intellectual laziness, or willful misunderstanding in what might on the surface appear to be logical arguments.
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Posted by
EmbraceUnity on 11/24 at 02:26 PM
Stupidity benefits the stupid. Anti-intellectualism occurs for the same reasons that other sorts of demographically-based movements do. It brings a sense of power, identity, etc.
Movements like fascism, fundamentalism, etc often rely on the desperate need of certain segments of the population that require simple explanations. Repeating comforting truisms is easier than thinking.
Personally, when it comes to facing the cold reality of certain things (like relationships), I sometimes consciously choose to suspend disbelief and become absorbed into an illusion. This urge is actually often called Romanticism, and both fascism and fundamentalism are rooted in it.
When lovers say "I want it to be this way forever," that is a manifestation of this urge. It is a reaction to change, and a seeking of comfort in the past or tradition or feel-good truisms.
That urge, while inherently irrational, isn't necessarily dangerous... only when it is applied to politics and social affairs does it begin to cause problems. Of course some think such irrationality shouldn't even invade the space of our personal affairs, but that, I think, is debatable considering the harm principle is not violated.
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