Roger Scruton: Why Intellectuals are Mostly Left

[@DrUrlf]

The most intelligent people are able to acknowledge that they can be wrong. That seperates them from ideologists.

[@fkujakedmyname]

no right wing white man will ever admit his grand dad was wrong for stealing

[@Anonymint-vj7bt]

Ideologue.

[@fkujakedmyname]

@@Anonymint-vj7bt capitalists are ideologues

[@sheepishmclemmingston5550]

" I don't much like ideologues, as they tend NOT to think for themselves" * Dr. Jordan B Peterson *

[@fkujakedmyname]

@@sheepishmclemmingston5550 says the fascist shit for brains ideologue shrink junkie Peterson how dare you call that nazi a dr hes not even a medical or stem professor hes a dam neo liberal arts major

[@paranoiawilldestroyya3238]

“My favourite definition of 'Intellectual' is: 'A person whose education surpasses their intelligence.'” - Arthur C. Clarke

[@jesseleeward2359]

Hahaha. I call that 'intellegensia'.

[@AkiraNakamoto]

@@jesseleeward2359 I think you borrow the term from Thomas Sowell. LOL

[@FreedomAndPeaceOnly]

We have a devastating narcicism problem in the West too. People _"left & right"_ (lol) realize at some point in their lifes that they have gone astray maybe for +3 decades of their lifes. And that some *nonsense* they belived in, is just that - nonsense. Nonsense which also has negative effects on them. But a narcist who can't deal with the fact that they have not been flawless in their entire lifes, will chose to rather sink with their ship as to change course. Thats the problem.

[@josephcoon5809]

“Education” can be acquired in better places than university.

[@MrMirville]

When you education surpasses your intelligence it must no longer be called education, it is called indoctrination. It means that somebody more intelligent than you uses his intelligence without imparting it to you but to possess you.

[@iSoldat]

I've met highly educated people who are brilliant in their disciplines, but are completely ignorant of the world around them. The problem is that they choose small groups of people who think similarly, so they never get another perspective creating feedback loops, or cultural bubbles.

[@CS-zn4bu]

Exactly! That is precisely the problem. I have doctors as my friends, who are very good in their jobs! But they follow the main stream media and politics like sheep, not questioning them!

[@rdelrosso1973]

Yes, a person can be a Phd in one field, but be totally ignorant of the History of The Big Bang Theory.

[@bensolo7217]

I find the same statement applies to uneducated echo chamberists as well. Seem less of an "x group" thing and more of a idiot human thing.

[@grantturk889]

Causes echo chambers and they never have any self reflection. This is why the big sort is dividing america so hard

[@ninamoores]

Yes.I would add to that ……that I have known several intellectuals and not a single one of them had an ounce of common sense!

[@englishincontext4025]

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false face for the urge to rule it." H. L. Mencken.

[@CarlJacobs-dz2hv]

Wow! That rings true of the WEF/one world government agenda!

[@SuperMIKevin]

"The hand of vengeance found the bed to which the purple tyrant fled. The iron hand crushed the head And came a tyrant in it's stead." Beautiful ❤️

[@_Jitterbug]

- William Blake

[@jackheisterman6731]

you mean meet the new boss same as the old boss

[@septembersurprise5178]

@@jackheisterman6731 Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[@jackheisterman6731]

@@septembersurprise5178 so saith the Shepard so saith the flock

[@KibyNykraft]

@@jackheisterman6731 In modern times, the self-defined"Right" means "lower taxes for small businesses and individuals" and "accepting the reality of natural sexes and the benefits of the family structure". If we look at the bigger picture internationally that is. These are the only aspects that fully unites a group of politicians and ideamakers that can be defined for example as the Right. While the Right in the USA are against abortion, the Right in Scandinavia and west Europe are pro abortion rights for women. Regarding economic theory, both most of the Right and all of the Left are in favour of keynesian economics globally, whereas the intellectual minority of the Right are exclusively in favour of "austrian" school (stable money value, Hayek, von Mises, M Friedman). In west and north Europe the intellectual Right is also often in favour of atheism and better conditions for science ,while the uneducated Right and the Left worldwide are mostly in favour of islam and/or New age alternativism and/or catholicism and/or lutheranism and/or hinduism.

[@christianyellic3394]

Thomas Sowell sums it up succinctly; “If an engineer makes a mistake, for example, and their building collapses killing hundreds, they are ruined. In the same vain, if someone who’s only profession is being an intellectual makes a mistake and millions die there is virtually no accountability.”

[@SJM6791]

Absolutely true!!

[@christianyellic3394]

My bad, misquoted him. “People who’s end product are ideas”. The Frankfurt School comes to mind, but I suppose that doesn’t take a stretch on the imagination 😆

[@johndoily9407]

Good observation. He's also one of these intellectuals. "Left-leaning" intellectuals that praised Stalin's "communism" surely got embarrassed. Likewise, "conservatives" being gung-ho about imperial war and our "capitalism" have and continue to support it. The limits of the debate are pretty infantile, it's either "capitalism" vs. "communism".

[@LANESxNOWONLYx]

@@johndoily9407 Infantile indeed. How about the government stepping out of the way & we, as a society, engage free enterprise with a moral emphasis on benevolence. This intertwined with individuality & personal liberty & freedom. Possible? Sure. Likely? Sadly, apparently not...

[@notbrad4873]

@@johndoily9407 I believe it's because pure capitalism or pure communism are easier to understand and sre ideological. Both fail pragmatically therefore fixedness on the theoretical of the systems end in ruin. When their systems fail they the politicians pay the media for good news. Consider that a milestone for economic and societal regression

[@timbuktu8069]

“There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.” ― George Orwell

[@chucknchar]

Or grasp it.

[@moriz1037]

Orwell was a socialist btw

[@RadicalRoots23]

Who was himself a left intellectual, of course. It was his annoyance at the silly things other intellectuals said that made him feel and say that (i have written a book about him, with permission from his son).

[@timbuktu8069]

Interesting. Can you give us the title?@@RadicalRoots23

[@fredmercury1314]

Is that why Orwell has been cancelled now?

[@eddyk2016]

The host likes the sound of his own voice. Roger is the one who's supposed to be the one answering the questions

[@lumpeegrendel1636]

Glad for the comment. I kept thinking that I would love to hear Roger speak more, but he kept getting cut off. Seems to be a common experience to impress someone that you admire with your own grasp of the subject. You asked him to talk, please let him do so.

[@brianfranklin9163]

Host Peter Robinson in "Uncommon Knowledge" does the same thing.

[@paulthomas955]

"That idea is so stupid that only a PhD would believe it " said my favorite philosophy professor

[@ghostsheet777]

Pot head degenerate??? If that's the case then your professor is right, since I understand very stupid ideas quite easily 😊

[@KL0098]

That's a variation of a George Orwell line.

[@winniecash1654]

😂

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

Stupid ideas are easy for spotting, and I guess in believing in those, but stupid ideas come in many different shapes and forms, I think much more shapes and forms than smart ideas... Stupid ideas can be understood by some half-educated or even some ignoramus if it is easy for understanding, and there are stupid ideas cloaked in cocoons of different layers of complexity, especially in philosophy, so many metaphysics sound very smart, and yet those mean almost nothing or bring nothing new in the table. So I agree, but I must add some stupid ideas can be understood by almost anyone.

[@ghostsheet777]

@@ozymandiasultor9480 thanks I didn't even notice lol

[@stacyswiss307]

It is a mark of a learned man that he can entertain a thought without accepting it.

[@DarkJak]

This is the why I love shitposting, not all expression needs to be explicit, especially once you know what you stand for and where to defend it

[@aramwatters]

@@DarkJak This.

[@Ethercloud]

I can entertain a thot without accepting it ^^

[@stacyswiss307]

@@Ethercloud hahaha I get it.😂🤣

[@davidgood9802]

One of the smartest things I have ever heard.

[@bethoughtprovoking]

The true mark of intelligence is the ability to uncover the false assumptions of an argument.

[@janinebelleestrada7096]

I was one of the intellectuals in my school till I discovered real life and grass hahaha

[@mattolson1760]

I would modify that statement to be "the false assumptions of your own argument." Critical thinking requires one to be critical of their own thinking.

[@bethoughtprovoking]

@@mattolson1760 The statement is about an argument; whether that argument be a personal one or not is irrelevant to the statement’s premise. No need for modification.

[@mattolson1760]

@B E Motivated reasoning? It is much easier to spot the false assumptions in another person's argument, especially when you don't agree. Without the ability to spot the flaws in your own arguments first, how can you know that your attempts to undermine an argument you don't agree with aren't a function of motivated reasoning, based on your own false assumptions??

[@bethoughtprovoking]

@@mattolson1760 You’re begging the question. Let me try again. Here’s my statement: “The true mark of intelligence is the ability to uncover the false assumptions of an argument.” Notice that it states, “an argument”; the use of an indefinite article makes the statement generic. Whether the argument is a personal one or no, it has no relevancy; it applies equally to one’s own arguments as it does to another’s. Socrates would say that he was aware of his own ignorance, and his method (the Socratic method) purposed to expose the fallacy of an argument(s).

[@gregjones1867]

The problem is that too many academic types believe they are intellectuals merely because they have spent lots of money and time pursuing a degree. They live in a vacuum of groupthink, and since all of the other so-called intellectuals they know agree with them, they believe they are justified in their belief and must indeed be wise. Therefore, everyone who isn't an academic like they are must not be smart enough to see what they see.

[@ezcoreg759]

This is no different than a cult mindset of academics. I'd much rather listen to an uneducated person, who was educated by life and how people are, than someone who has had their nose in the books. As said in the video, real life is crucial on personal belief on concept of truth, and these intellectual types are just speaking a belief of thoughts taught akin to indoctrination as the only way.

[@vitalyl1327]

@@ezcoreg759 you and your kind are the worst problem of our civilisation.

[@chubsnubber4867]

You hammered that nail! Damn! 😉

[@pippipster6767]

There is a tremendous difference between intellectualism and intelligence.

[@somethingginterestingg4275]

To be fair, there is definitely value in knowing history, for example. It's much harder to convince someone that xyz is evil and you must be right if you can point to numerous times/patterns in history where something very similR happened and x occurred because of it.

[@ryanoquinn1068]

William Buckley Jr said something like “I’d rather be governed by the first fifty names in the phone book than the Harvard faculty”. I’ve spent my time in academia and I agree with that sentiment

[@Camcolito]

Yeah the Harvard faculty are real communists, lol.

[@caroldegraa1]

We’d be ruled by Aardvarks.

[@Reticuli]

There is something to be said for the Athenian sortition.

[@Urdatorn]

That would be the Athenian prytanies! :D

[@OwlMoovement]

I wonder if he picked 50 because he had hoped "Buckley" would make it into the first fifty ;) I've got an ant problem in my place that the landlord hasn't dealt with, so I personally welcome our aardvark overlords.

[@SRH420ful]

In my opinion even if you want to delve into the political spectrum full throttle it will take a year of watching and listening to get a real sense of political history and current political trends and why they are happening. Understanding the media's role in shaping politics is a college course in itself.

[@westb1028]

It all happens because we live in a fallen world, full of unrepentant sinners. Everything starts with that underpinning. Try reading the Democratic Party platform, it’s like the devil himself wrote it.

[@bowedbat]

Hence why the media was called the fourth estate!

[@flaming7488]

People need to to spend more time on politics in general

[@kemari47]

Is it?

[@ojmachine9545]

@@westb1028 if going by american politics i'd wager the republican party is just as evil in intent as the democratic platform if not less unabashed about showcasing that evil

[@carolingi1741]

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

[@Guztenify]

And the left create the worst problems

[@Guztenify]

@Red Levantinist that's scary

[@Guztenify]

@Red Levantinist I don't read propaganda, neither should you

[@Guztenify]

@Red Levantinist no, just not propaganda.

[@Guztenify]

@Red Levantinist resistance members are too politically involved. A person which doesn't have an opinion on politics but only goes on facts sure doesn't write propaganda.

[@johnmauricio5610]

Intellectuals are people who have become so gifted at mental gymnastics they can talk themselves right out of reality all together.

[@craigwalton8241]

You described an 'academic', not an intelluctual.

[@bgt63]

​@@craigwalton8241potāto/potăto

[@philv2529]

This is not new this is what Socrates also got accused of it was one of his crimes at his trial after which he was put to death

[@Tarantula-hawk]

​@@philv2529Socrates would call out all the neo sophistry from postmodernists and get canceled for it

[@philv2529]

@@Tarantula-hawk yeah. He had a knack for pissing people off no matter what they believed

[@SadStateOfAffairs]

"Without the concept of 'TRUTH', there is NO REAL engagement between people." -Roger Scruton

[@vebdaklu]

...you can engage people by lying to them, right?

[@SadStateOfAffairs]

@@vebdaklu Sure, but the engagement isn’t Real from the get go. But I hear you.

[@TheFlyingBrain.]

Real engagement is the product of recreating another's experience within one's self. It has nothing to do with "truth," which only exists as an abstraction.

[@mnomadvfx]

Modern politics shows us that truth is fairly subjective to the lowest common denominator in intelligence or knowledge of the audience. The less informed or educated they are, the easier it is to convince them of any 'truth' you want to.

[@IceLynne]

Quite apparent these days.

[@mary4776]

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. H. L. Mencken

[@zjg3913]

Hightown the green new deal...

[@cranekraken24]

So true. Tucker Carlson posed this question on his show the other night, "Can you name one proposal in the Green New Deal that doesn't hand over huge swaths of power to the Demcorat party?". We could pose this same question for every policy the modern Left pushes for. edit: spelling

[@TejasM14]

​@@cranekraken24 I hope you see the incongruence of your argument. If you actually buy into this argument, it should also follow that the suggestions of the right too are a false front for the urge to rule. The quotation doesn't suggest it applies to one leaning or another.

[@natejennings5884]

I call them the "save-the-world assholes". Beware of the save-the-world assholes.

[@conelord1984]

@@TejasM14 Sure it does apply mostly to one side. The right mostly wants to be left alone. The left want to use state powered violence to impose itself over those that do not share their beliefs.

[@DavidMccallister65]

"Just because you can win the argument doesn't make you right."

[@RayW....]

Or left...

[@hughharper3079]

That makes no sense at all

[@ГеоргиГеоргиев-с3г]

@@hughharper3079 you can be wrong and win an argument and doing so doesn't mean you are automatically on the right, but it's most likely so. "the conservative intellectual doesn't need a reason"(as in you ought to remove reason) proceeds with giving his reason and trying to sound reasonable, so does that mean he is not conservative or not intellectual.

[@HellCat_Kenny]

@@hughharper3079 you can “win” (appear to be the victor) an argument and not have really proven whether or not your position is correct.

[@DavidMccallister65]

@@hughharper3079 try to think critically about it.

[@akylrysgal6242]

Being an intellectual has nothing to do with left, right or centre of a political spectrum. If someone understands that these political divisions are created artificially, then he is probably an intellectual.

[@Isaaczsf]

Yeah but even people who acknowledge this tend to be biased towards where they think the artificiality comes from. Very few people could actually reliably be designated as centrist, because the Overton window shifts regularly. So almost everyone has a political alignment as long as they’re educated on politics and social concepts. Most people who believe political division is artificially made believe that their ideas are objectively more rational and benefit society the most, and so the side that disagrees with them principly is artificially created to sway people from their own side

[@vitalyl1327]

Being an intellectual means knowing that the science evolved a lot since 1790, and every single discovery debunked Adam Smith. Being a rightwing dimwit means believing that free market / small government can work and can be stable, despite all the evidence of the opposite.

[@PiandI-o5r]

The point is that “ intellectuals” generally fall on the left. Being a leftist is a side effect of thinking a lot and doing nothing of any importance. College professors for the most part sit at the very bottom of society in my estimation as the lowest most useless turds I can think of.

[@jessenelson8106]

Postmodern intellectual

[@akylrysgal6242]

@@vitalyl1327 America started with little government, now its enormous

[@theastrogoth8624]

The thing about intellectuals is that they’re so skilled with language that they will make you believe even the most ridiculous things.

[@odradekfilms]

I agree, with respect to Scruton !

[@machtnichtsseimann]

True. They are so skilled with language, have a greater vocabulary, or delivery that is confident. Commands respect. But...so can a good used car salesman selling a lemon. Everyone must come to grips with their vulnerabilities in buying BS from anyone. In the form of Intellectual...Politician...Activist...Religious Leader...Salesman. ( Not saying all are selling BS, but where are we urged to grow in discernment. Our leaders seldom do, it seems. )

[@plasticweapon]

YES.

[@Logicalization]

That’s why I only accept Brendan’s Schaub as a thought leader

[@kec7116]

What a great summation. It encapsulates Marcuse perfectly.

[@Maxwell.Manlove]

_“Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them”_ - George Orwell

[@segmentsAndCurves]

Orwell was a socialist. For a time at least.

[@HiddenOcelot]

@@segmentsAndCurves for a time sure, but he was very jaded with its execution, which never lead to anything he would describe as socialism.

[@jonassanoj3045]

Orwell never said that.

[@samuelshin593]

Want to know why libtards are soo predictable? They're nothing but a dead bygone era of brainwashing created by cccp of ussr back in 1940s because commys knew they were losing. So they made a program to turn USA into communistic genocidal maniacs. Look up 1991 riots which was merely a culmination of decades of genocide against us asians who vote republican because we saw first hand of your so called liberal and socialism ideals first hand in our nations ravaged by your retarded ideology. You libtards are racist, narcissistic, genocidal maniacs, pedophiles, and baby killers. 2020 you guys murdered many babies for sure and don't forget 1991. I was there you genocidal maniac. With billions of humans if you're worried about offending anyone, you end up not being able to say anything at all

[@samuelshin593]

Liberals so stupid they don't understand air is made of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% Hydrogen with 0.05% CO2. To top that off, 99.999999999% of 0.05% of CO2 comes from microorganisms. Every square inch of Earth is microorganisms. Why do you put food inside freezers? Cold temperatures prevent bacterial growth. Same thing with Earth. Temperatures go down, bacterial growth goes down than CO2 goes down and vice versa. Look at any global temperature graph of Earth in billions of years. Temperature always had cyclical change. Always!!. Liberals soo stupid they don't understand what the sun is, which is a fusion reaction of two different isotopes of hydrogen tritium and deuterium overcoming nuclear bonds with gravity, which is extremely inefficient and causes temperature to change. With billions of humans if you try to make something that offends nobody you end up with nothing.

[@E101ification]

Thomas Sowell also posits an explanation for why most 'intellectuals' appear to be Left, at least as far as academia goes, in one of his books. I forget which one, but he says the intelligent people of a Conservative, Right disposition tend to be good at making money, business etc.. and so most choose to pursue those goals. What we're left with is a small number of Conservatives and Right wingers who choose to use their intellect for academic pursuits. On the other hand, intelligent people of a Socialist, Left wing disposition are, obviously, opposed to the idea of making money and the business world, so way more of them feel suited to academia where they get to wax lyrical all day long about the virtues of Socialism and the evils of Capitalism. In short, the 'best thinkers' of the Right don't go into academia precisely because their talents would be wasted there. I did a really bad job paraphrasing, but it's something to that effect.

[@thecorruptversion]

If that's the point Sowell made, then I agree. And I love the fact that he's not another sheep repating the same "but the IQ...". There are more than 1 type of intelligence.

[@jalander8817]

Idk. Silicon Valley is a giant exception. I think there is a tendency for the most creative of the bunch to be more liberal. If they are smart, they hire more conservative people to execute a business strategy for their novel creation.

[@a.thales7641]

Truth. I also thought about this yesterday and came up with it. But I guess this is just part of the reason.

[@privatejr2702]

@@jalander8817 you might be surprised at how many people in the silicon valley acquiesce to leftist ideas. Speaking up is risky business here.

[@Vexas345]

I've never met an intelligent conservative who truly believed what they spouted. There really only are the people at the top, who know what they are pushing is incorrect but helps advance their own selfish goals, and the many more abundant sheep, who all buy into the lies since they don't know any better.

[@kassokilleri2ff]

I was a liberal lefty for the first 34 years of my life and then i became a libertarian.

[@Stuff857]

Was it because of John Stossel? Was the case for me

[@kassokilleri2ff]

@WWIITrophyLugerPO8 It was Peter Schiff for me lol. I didn't become a libertarian then. But it was the first free market argument I ever heard that wasn't spewed by dumbass conservatives making bad arguments.

[@RDesai_indiancapitalist]

​@@Stuff857for me it was wealth of nations and Milton Friedman's youtube videos

[@malcolm-danielfreeman5940]

the left isnt liberal - that makes you american ie ignorant and stupid

[@tommapar]

Ah yes the natural course for everyone. I still have some of that cultural marxism ingrained in me. Then I became the exact opposite, very conservative, but nowadays I stand proud as a libertarian. I am of the thought that maximizing individual freedoms, in the long run, leads to maximizing quality of life as well. And I simply can't see any left ideology that can accomodate those levels of freedom. The biggest foundations for leftist ideas are in themselves very violent and prone to spiraling out of control whenever enforced by a fatherly government. You simply CAN'T have a government of the people, when you're actively trying to police each and every single thing through government. You're signing the deed to your own submission. In my limited experience as an argentinian, I see that all manner of policy in the end is there to justify theft, to justify imposing stuff onto people, to justify all other manner of excess, leading to a corrupt state akin to a mafia. It is ORGANIZED, STATISIZED crime. Born out of resentment (here goes Marx rearing his ugly head again) and out of a belief that no one is entitled to property. They exist so that we can tell CLEARLY the do's and don'ts of what the state/government should be allowed and not allowed to do with your life.

[@phillipwesson8785]

‘Intellectual Conservatism’: The art and craft of working out what’s wrong; then doing nothing to change it

[@LostInTheMovies]

Bold to assume Scruton cares about the first part.

[@ryanmckenzie3627]

Also the assumption that doing something means the only way to do anything is using power of the state to do the exact same things they claim to hate over and over.

[@AppleJacksCereal]

Facts

[@samuelluria4744]

@Bronson the Nomad - Thank you!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@petergreen5337]

Well said and well OBSERVED.

[@Publius-24]

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley

[@leonharrison800]

What facts? LGBT exist. All we need to know.

[@Publius-24]

@@leonharrison800 "The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." Ayn Rand

[@leonharrison800]

@Kirk Bowyer Ayn Rand was a fool. Without acting collectively,individuals have no rights. Basic principle of Marxism.

[@TA-by9wv]

​@@leonharrison800 Yeah mental illness also exists. What of it?

[@jub7345]

​@@Publius-24 very based. Thank you

[@mchammer5592]

Most “intellectuals” are deeply compromised by their need to be perceived as intelligent, which is validated though current social consensus. (Ie media, academia, saying THIS is what smart people think) There’s a reason why in so many breakthroughs throughout history, the prevailing consensus is not initially open minded to the breakthrough but rather specifically hostile to it. No one REALLY wants to consider something new at risk of losing status as a “smart person”.

[@4Mikes4Mindset4]

Bravo buddy. I'm in Northern California near SF and I can't tell you how many times growing up I'd have people so confident they were right that ended up being completely wrong they made me question myself. They didn't bat an eye on being wrong either as something to ponder on. I have had a wild ride seeing the contrast since 2020

[@mikmop]

Well said. You've hit the nail right on the head. I've taken your idea and reiterated it as the introduction to my own analysis that I've posted here in another comment, which intellectually deflates the views of this so-called intellectual.

[@amrcnngrmny]

Ehhhh no

[@Rossdink]

There you have it smarty pants, very well put.

[@violentnewworld]

Universities are creating this kind of person on a mass scale.

[@sneo1537]

Interviewer forgot which one of them was being interviewed.

[@eikebraselmann4306]

You can hear that the one guy is getting annoyed with the other guy, though. I‘ll google the guy who got to talk less, because it seems he had good things to say.

[@vanceslas2]

Making a decision solely based on a left or right choice without considering the underlying complexities of a problem isn't necessarily an intellectual approach. It's important to critically analyze the situation, consider multiple perspectives, and think beyond binary solutions. Intellectual thinking involves exploring different options, weighing their pros and cons, and seeking a comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand. It's all about embracing nuance and complexity!

[@garchafpv]

i wish my brain worked like yours..

[@thomascooper5114]

Yeah so they’re weighing the pros & cons out, then ending up on the left. Makes you wonder why the right want people to be uneducated & lack critical thinking skills.

[@SeattleMartin]

Excellent comment!

[@PBTexasBoy]

Great comment!

[@vanceslas2]

@garchafpv Haha, I'm sure your brain is amazing. We all have our unique strengths and abilities!

[@PuggiTheGreat]

Scruton was one of our finest intellectuals and if was awful how they treated him in the last couple of years of his life. God rest my friend.

[@Highley1958]

He was a fucking idiot. Did you even listen to his advice? It was: Stop thinking and you can become a conservative.

[@johnsmith-v9t8o]

🤮

[@TheFlyingBrain.]

Yes. I'd surmise he's going to need that rest. He's got a lot of learning left to do, all uphill I'm afraid, poor soul.

[@atodaso1668]

@@TheFlyingBrain. I dont think he wanted to lean left anymore, he was smarter than that.

[@leehigh_777]

This is very sad, thats why trumps and his supporters are successful in their efforts to destroy the USA.

[@mbayatab4326]

An intellectual is someone who when discussing a subject can change his opinion if he finds that his interlocutor’s opinion on the same subject is more convincing than his own.

[@gn0my]

An intellectual can also find fault in their own arguments and belief. Anyone who refuses to accept a downside or grey area of their ideals is not an intellectual. That simply makes them ignornat.

[@goodolarchie]

An even more intellectual understands how wrong they are intrinsically, about a great many things, and seeks to constantly get closer to the truth even if an interlocutor never comes along. From that is the font of original thought.

[@Kirke182]

Everybody does that.

[@johndaconkaroo]

​@Kirke182 you must be an intellectual

[@noc9901]

​@@Kirke182in a perfect world, that would be a true statement 😔

[@patginni5229]

The most dangerous statement is,”That’s not fair.’ The world is neither fair or unfair. The world doesn’t care about the individual. As soon as you deem something as being unfair then you adopt the victim mentality. If you give the victim the power they don’t correct the system. Instead they punish the people they feel victimized them. The victim becomes the villain and the process begins again. A conservative person that isn’t concerned with fair or unfair can solve the problem because revenge is not the motivation of their actions.

[@GiuliQGandolfo]

I disagree; politics *has* *always* *been* and will always be petty and violent: Back in 1994 Clinton banned the AR-15 [ something **no** **one** would do, if they were knowledgeable about firearms] but in 2004 the ban was up for resubmission and Congress couldn’t secure enough votes 🗳️ The AR-15 is only illegal in 10 States today. Then Trump, overturned Roe 😢 but today, abortion is legal in 21 States and the District of Columbia. Both liberals and conservatives pass laws based off of their own **deliberately** ignorant, definitions.

[@GiuliQGandolfo]

If you don’t like abortion, don’t get one and if you don’t like guns, **get** **over** **it** siss 😇🪦 Stop being entitled and figure out how to **safely** operate a firearm ❤ so you don’t need to wait hours for the police to come and “save ME” 😢

[@nathanliscom925]

"The world isn't fair" isn't a reason to not try to make the world more fair. The world isn't just in many ways, but shouldn't we try to make it so? Just because something isn't currently like a better alternative doesn't mean we shouldn't try to reach that better alternative.

[@drellz9361]

Great point

[@patginni5229]

@@nathanliscom925 there is no such thing as fair. If you want to change the world for the better then remove the word fair from your vocabulary. Fair is a carnival. It’s not a way to look at a situation. If I have 2 apples I picked from my tree and I give you one most people would say that is fair. But you will begin to think that since I have an entire tree full of apples that I probably should have given you both. After all I can always get more from my tree. A lot of people would say that is also fair. If I gave you both apples you would start to think that I should give you apples whenever you get hungry. After you get used to the expected fruit what happens if one day I say no you can’t have the apples? Well you would think that was unfair wouldn’t you? After all I was giving them to you before. What changed my mind? It’s not fair that I just stopped. Well now you start feeling hurt and angry that I stopped giving you my apples for no good reason. And now you have put yourself in the position of Victim. And since you feel legitimized in your victim hood you decide to retaliate against me for my antagonistic actions. In your anger you damage my tree to show me how it feels to be the victim. A lot of people will still say that’s fair. People love to be the victims. The victim can always feel self righteous about their actions while blaming the aggressor for those same actions. It’s not the cops fault that rioters burn cities because they are angry about police brutality. Buy those rioters hide behind their own victim hood and say they have no choice but to destroy other people’s property. And some will say that’s fair. Now look at every thing from the other side of the story I spent years pruning and working with my Apple tree to get it where it is. I was happy to see that my tree is prosperous and wanted to share that with you. Soon enough you over step the hospitality and begin expecting me to just give you something you have no right to. But I hold my tongue and give you the apples each time. Soon enough I see that there are just enough apples to feed myself and I tell you no. Instead of appreciating the apples I have already given you, you get angry at kill my tree. Now I’m out of food and I can’t provide for my family. Simply because you worry about fair. Instead of being worried about what is fair try this. Make yourself prosperous. And you don’t have to be rich to be prosperous. All you have to do is put in the effort to make tomorrow better for yourself than today was. When you are prosperous then help others to prosper. When you have the means and desire to be charitable then be charitable. If you have to ask for help because of hard times then ask for help. Don’t expect a hand out. Appreciate what is freely offered but never demand anything that isn’t freely given.

[@theboombody]

When you never work in the supply chain, it's really easy to take it for granted. We won't be able to do any advanced thinking whatsoever if we're dead from starvation. Until I started working in a small business, I had no idea how much effort needs to be done in non-intellectual pursuits just for our world to operate efficiently. Even with all of the advanced technology we have today.

[@c-eb3634]

Yes! I think both sides can agree on that one.

[@mudddge]

Someone has to pull the cart

[@michaelfoxbrass]

There are no million-dollar ideas, only million-dollar operations.

[@matthewcasey4795]

The world needs ditch diggers too.

[@stephenhosking7384]

I'll never forget my first day as general hand in a fruit store. After 30 mins I was thinking "Is it lunch time yet?". Ditto for the other times I've worked in manual labor. An eight hour day feels like an eternity. I worked as an IT contractor for most of my career, on good rates. When I was sixty I started my own business, and discovered how hard it is to make the equivalent of a good salary when you're running your own business. Customers, problems, invoices, selling yourself, suppliers, no such thing as a day off.

[@robmangeri777]

In my estimation conservatism in its best sense has to do with recognizing those things that have value and importance when they are found. Liberalism in its best sense is a quest into the unknown to find something new and better. I would argue that honest conservatives and honest liberals should eventually meet each other in those places that are good and valuable and important. I pray that I am correct and that I will see those honest among you one day with me in the presence of God :) Love you all!

[@jennifermullen7208]

Maybe a true liberal, but the ones that call themselves liberals these days tend to look for all that's wrong with humanity instead of all that's good with humanity and extend on that goodness. From what I've seen and heard from these liberals is.. They are the type to have a beautiful house but because the kitchen is ugly and dated they tear the whole house down..

[@gregorywade1559]

I realized how necessary liberalism is when my cel phone was stolen. I would have never purchased a new one had the old one not been destroyed but I am much happier with my new one. Liberals destroy and conservatives rebuild better. Make no mistake, however; liberals - being destroyers - should never be allowed to dominate

[@theYungOldBoi]

❤

[@georgefurman4371]

Liberalism and conservatism are the historic failure of this system to provide and satisfy the people's priorities and desire for prosperity and social understanding. They both are the servants of the capitalist wealthy class. The attempt at perpetuating this system based on the exploitation of the weak and poor . the present state of American confusion and conflict is the product of both parties failure. War and chaos and environmental catastrophe are the result of the love for this system of profit for the sake of profiting.

[@spencerwinston4334]

"They all want to get to the throne: that is their madness - as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne - and often the throne also on mud. Mad they all appear to me, clambering monkeys and overardent. Foul smells their idol, the cold monster: foul, they smell to me altogether, these idolators. ” ― Friedrich Nietzsche, German, genius philosopher.

[@AegisAuras]

“Those that hate war don’t create peace. Those that love peace create peace.” - Seth, channeled by Jane Roberts

[@JimCar71]

Thomas Sowell has an entire book dissecting this very topic. You’ll never view an “intellectual “ the same way after reading it.

[@GruntKF]

Hilarious you mention him, as this entire conversation reeks of his type of drivel. Please, please, read some critiques of sowells works and don't trap your mind within his echo chamber of baseless thought

[@eats4cheaps305]

​@@GruntKF I've read critiques of Sowell. All ideologs.

[@umbraemilitos]

Who?

[@b.entranceperium]

​@Matt Moss who would you recommend? It's very hard to debunk his facts from endless years of tireless research and observations...

[@juanzulu1318]

​@@GruntKF whats the prob with Sowell?

[@mr.battle20]

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" - Romans 1:22

[@seanshadrach5197]

AMEN!

[@greglamothe5942]

You are an Intellectual Bible Philosopher.

[@PatrickMetzdorf]

I have never seen an interviewer who is so keen to hear himself talk, and constantly talking over the interviewee, as this guy.

[@billhicks8]

Distinction worthwhile here: he's good. Yes he interrupts, and possibly too much, but I think he really drills down into the issues the left has. I say this *as* a leftist. We have some problems, and it is rare that I see the challenge produced without hand-wringing, rubbish, or hyperbole.

[@PatrickMetzdorf]

@@billhicks8 Yes, I like his enthusiasm and he does make good points. But this kind of behaviour is always a bit offputting to me and surely the people he interviews as well.

[@mjh5437]

@@billhicks8 "I say this as a leftist" is a statement I have never heard uttered with pride before 😁😆😅

[@alexallan-musicaaovivo500]

90% of all talk shows are like that. I found this one kinda shy...LOL.

[@markharris5107]

Is this supposed to be an interview, or is it a conversation? If the latter, then the back and forth was acceptable - though I'd have rather heard more from Scruton.

[@bkilpatr100]

"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy.” -George Orwell, 1984

[@HerrinSchadenfreude]

Truth remains stranger than fiction. What gets me is how the really real world swore it was too smart to fall for what the functional public always falls for, then falls worse. And looks dumber doing it because the fictional public never seems to have a century's worth of warnings in books and cinema to tell them what not to do.

[@elLooto]

Ive always loved that line in 1984. In the business we call that "foreshadowing."

[@halcyonzenith4411]

Sexual harassment!!

[@Mickey-ro7yy]

doesn’t winston say he hates nearly all women a few lines earlier lmao what even is your point

[@bkilpatr100]

@@Mickey-ro7yy The point is exactly the point he made. They're the ones who typically fall for it the hardest. But it's not just women. I don't think he ever for saw how beta most men would become in the future either. The 'Junior anti-sex League' is literally LGBT. He described it back then. That's the one thing he got wrong was the sexual revolution part. He thought society would be modest, but it went the opposite direction he predicted. He captured the mentality of these people very well though. They'll do or believe anything the party says no matter what. That's why you got a bunch of them running around talking about how men can get pregnant these days.

[@joymahiko]

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools".

[@johnwalter6410]

Roses are red violets are blue. Shit in buckets. Eat with your hands

[@emmaccode]

Conservatism is literally defined by believing that your current ideas are perfect and don't need to be changed. You can say anyone is a fool, it doesn't make them a fool. A fool to me is someone who is stubborn and doesn't change their ideas with new evidence. For example, someone who believes in young-earth creation despite the overwhelming evidence that says otherwise... Or anyone who really wants to keep unwavered despite changing history and information... Conservatives. I don't understand how you can possibly say " the problem with those on the left is that they think they are right and don't take in new information. They consider themselves too wise to learn new things." when that's like... Your entire ideology...?

[@themartialartsapproach8786]

Are you referring to principled intellectuals, or these anti-intellectuals?

[@zcampbell613]

​@@emmaccodelol changing history? Conservatives aren't always about not changing. It's about a smaller government, opening up more free market competition, allowing for more freedom of choice. Maybe just don't blindly believe what some po-mo Marxist professor told you once.

[@sanders555]

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in America conservatives are pathologically retarded.

[@LyadinDima]

whenever i question reality, politics, culture, money, man's duality, religion... i always get frustrated at the lack of answers and solutions... seems like every move creates another problem, and there's no way to tell how well solutions play out over a very long period of time. but at least that makes me certain that giving total power and control to a few people isn't the solution, because they don't have this information either, and will just provide a solution that benefits themselves in the end.

[@spencerwinston4334]

"They all want to get to the throne: that is their madness - as if happiness sat on the throne. Often, mud sits on the throne - and often the throne also on mud. Mad they all appear to me, clambering monkeys and overardent. Foul smells their idol, the cold monster: foul, they smell to me altogether, these idolators. ” ― Friedrich Nietzsche, German, genius philosopher.

[@wambokodavid7109]

Man we the same here.every time I try to get answers it's just headaches.... that's why I just love life one day at a time.i never used to understand hippies but as time goes and have a friend who is one, I'm starting to think like them in a way.dunno if there has ever even been a black hippie before tho 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@nengyang1895]

Thomas Sowell said it best. There are no solutions, only trade offs.

[@hulahula6182]

Just know this, when something bad happens, it's almost always the Juice's fault

[@billh2294]

Seems to me that we are always fighting against our basic nature. Our tendency to fracture and choose group dynamics over knowledge is the norm and people who attempt to "correct" or control this nature often become the tyrant regardless from which political side they come from. So the pendulum swings from one negative to the other.

[@GSpotter63]

In my experience most intellectuals do not want to be told they are wrong but the only way to do that is to reject reality in those cases where they are wrong.

[@Kain1805]

I'd say that's rather a sign of stupidity. Remember, intelligent ≠ smart

[@-TheUnkownUser]

That's based on the assumption that they are wrong. And that's a gratitous accusation rather than a correct understanding of a spectrum of views around complex things.

[@GSpotter63]

@@-TheUnkownUser I clearly indicated that my argument was based on those cases in which they are wrong not somebody's opinion that they may be wrong.... How long have you had this habit of taking people out of context adding your own fault narrative then proceeding to criticize them for your own made up BS? Remember that reality does not conform itself to what we think and believe... It is what it is whether we like it or not....

[@-TheUnkownUser]

@@GSpotter63 I say that it’s an assumption (read carefully), because, how do you know that they are wrong?

[@GSpotter63]

@@-TheUnkownUser In many cases the facts of the matter can be confirmed....

[@PJAlaska]

Roger is one of the main reason I study the classics. Amazing man.

[@betepolitique4810]

Intellectuals just think they are smart enough to know what's best for the world.

[@mydh122]

Yes, Leftist big-government thinking appeals to their ego and pride. They think that they are morally and intellectually superior to everyone else and therefore all power should be concentrated in their hands. That is also why they despise the limitations that the US Constitution has built into it, and why they (eg. Obama) want to "fundamentally transform" the US government. Their ego also is a main reason why they also rebel against the concept of the Christian God that labels some of their activities as sin and says that they will accountable to God. They want to be their own god and make their own rules.

[@Quinceps]

@@mydh122 You mean rightist governments don't impose their shit on others? All fucking governments do.

[@tunesmith7437]

So true Bete....let me quote Socrates in agreement: 'It is the wise man who knows when he knows not...and the fool who thinks they know when they do not'.

[@aitnobetafaq]

Mostly intellectuals earn a decent living and can afford well build houses in the right neighberhoods. On the other hand i can only afford a shit building where i am the only white guy on the block and get harrasad by muslims and black drug dealers. Its gives a whole other perspective on migrants witch are mostly toughts on the leftist side to make them stay. Unless they will move to a place where i live. Then those choises will decrease rappidly.

[@ancientfinn3738]

Intelligence is not the same as maturity, most of them are simply a bit childish.

[@theenclave4981]

As the philosopher David Hume said to the tune of something like, "The greater learned the mind, it fosters greater liberality of the self."

[@HerculesBallsInc]

"Disputes are multiply'd, as if every thing was uncertain; the these disputes are manag'd with the greatest warmth, as if every thing was certain." - David Hume

[@lkae4]

Hume was completely wrong according to universities today.

[@theenclave4981]

@KL as most universities have replaced Hume with Nietzche and Foucalt unfortunately.

[@denverscott37]

"man, shut the fuck up" The great philosopher ~Dave Chappelle ~

[@lkae4]

@@theenclave4981 Do you identify as a progressive?

[@Memememe-is1yn]

Just because someone is somewhat articulate with their speech and believes the current popular thing doesn't make them an "intellectual".

[@a7xSkateboarding]

Right, it just means they can retain information and regurgitate it. Not very original, and it often comes down to brownie points. It's the safe way to live life

[@johnschmalbach8243]

I found it amusing that he referred to what he sees as the self-congratulatory nature of the Left and then seamlessly, and unironically, congradulates those who, like him evolved past the intellectualism of the Left to become a conservative intellectual. In a way he reminded me of William F Buckley, in that if not for his sophisticated manner of speaking people would probably openly chuckle at some of his assertions.

[@Paul_Hanson]

You gave me a good chuckle.

[@fabiogarcia5100]

What was mind boggling was thr British man’s assertive blanket statement that the left is some how always focused on negativity - this is what an out of touch with reality individual would say when they have zero care to acknowledge what goes on outside their bubble. And the host’s Nazi comparisson was even more mind boggling.. smh

[@qwerty9850]

You mean to say he is not the Enlightened One? /s

[@pippipster6767]

He did not in fact congratulate himself, he merely observed it. There is a difference.

[@johnschmalbach8243]

@@pippipster6767 you literally just summed up the essence of being smugly self- congratulatory. When you create a position of personal superiority and then justify it by saying "it's simply an observation of reality" as one would when observing objectively observable phenomenas, such as a solar flare, You are by definition being self-congratulatory.

[@mecurian485]

Fear not the man who does not know, For that man can think and grow, Fear the zealot who "knows" what's true For there is no horror he will not do.

[@deathbycognitivedissonance5036]

I can't tell you how happy I am to see these up again! Congrats on your remonitization.

[@PhilosophyInsights]

How are you so fast :O

[@deathbycognitivedissonance5036]

@@PhilosophyInsights Dedicated subscriber. 👍

[@stardustgirl2904]

Intellectuals are usually from the left because they're only book smart and not common sense smart and they don't use facts!

[@rumproastwitch]

What a treat, missed your uploads ^^

[@johnnihil1689]

I consider myself a liberal to a degree, and I've enjoyed this channel for a while. I was wondering where it went. At least these political discussions are classy and civilized, unlike the so called leaders of both the left and right.

[@BladeOfLight16]

You know, this is really just an old principle being put in modern terms. Our culture used to call this "being thankful," and it was important to us to be grateful for the good things in our lives, no matter what hardships we faced. If there is one thing that the critical theorists lack, it is gratitude.

[@THEWittebol]

Is the glass half full or half empty... that's the question indeed.

[@augustday9483]

In fact it feels like critical theorists are expressly UN-grateful for the good things in our lives. Modern political philosophy is all about "stolen indigenous land", "systemic racism", "generational inequality", and any other buzzwords you can think of to describe this basic thesis: that western civilization should be ashamed of its own existence, and must dismantle itself to right this wrong. "Give up everything your ancestors built for you and die in a ditch", they say.

[@bradchambers5886]

​@@THEWittebol The glass is always full. Half of it is water and half of it is air. Though the air is invisible, it is far more vital than the water.

[@conditionallyunconditional5691]

They lack wisdom.

[@rhuttrho88]

​@@THEWittebol Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Whooooooosh!🤦🏿‍♂️😁👍🏿👋🏿

[@nonesuch27]

What a wonderful interview by Roger Scruton of this person.

[@jamestiburon443]

My favorite definition of an Intellectual, "A Person who thinks Ideas are more interesting the People", by Paul Johnson.

[@SeattleMartin]

People like Roger Scruton.

[@chopperking1967]

You may wish to change "the" to "than"

[@jamestiburon443]

@@chopperking1967 correct.

[@Xcalator35]

Then I'm definitely an intelectual!

[@urphakeandgey6308]

Most intellectuals are like book critics who have never written a book.

[@beerman204]

Which should humble them and make their views more realistic but rarely does. Truth usually takes the fall as ego prevails.

[@harrymills2770]

It's arrogance and the enormous gratification from being told you're right by people who are just looking for excuses to use force against others. The only legitimate use of force is resisting unilateral use of force by another. As an adolescent I thought "If only I had the power, I'd MAKE people do the right things." Then I grew up and realized that not only didn't I CAUSE the world's problems, but every single thing that is GOOD in the world exists with or without me, as well! The eternity before my birth, nobody was pining for my arrival, and likely few will notice the blip I made on history after I'm gone. Most good stuff out there is done voluntarily, and you mustn't dis-incentivize what's good, in order to fight what you think is bad. That's what young people and arrested-development intellectuals tend to miss. In my view, they tend to be just smart enough to see a lot of inputs and outputs at the same time, and think they can be optimally arranged with smart people like him telling everybody what to produce. But it never works top-down. You need every person, every step of the way, to have a profit motive in doing it BETTER.

[@anenemystand5582]

You certainly like to hear yourself talk. It's a shame you have nothing of value to say.

[@brockb3692]

Reality and reason are bent toward leftism. Right-wing ideologies are repelled by thinking. Note that there is a difference between leftism and liberalism. I totally agree that liberalism is a cesspool of arrogance and stupidity.

[@amrcnngrmny]

Bingo

[@apoliticaldeviant1262]

Nah

[@Dalladon]

People like being right - that vindicates their existence regardless of intellect. Why else would conspiracy theory be so prevalent and people joining groups on social media that reinforces that line of thinking rather than to explore the possibility that we, as people, might be wrong. In the current sphere even one failure condemns a person to eternal damnation from existing in a public sphere. Meaning of course that failure is discouraged, and by that extend learning too, as you are discouraged from making dumb mistakes. There are plenty of examples of youthful ignorance, I can name several of my own. But in doing so you learn, the question is whether we are willing to see our mistakes as outside factors or our own to shape and learn from. Flailing our arms and blaming someone else is not an issue of left and right - whether we blame the rich, the poor, the minorities (religious or otherwise), etc. We are blaming someone. It is the same people that show up to public hearings against a proposal, and yell abuse at 'intellectuals', rather than the politicians that approved the proposal to begin with. Politicians we ourselves elected. Fleeing from the responsibility of placing or not placing a vote. Frustration, and willingness to destroy basic democratic influences just to be 'right'. So we as individuals have a choice, we can continue to blame the outside world for everything that makes us feel bad or wrong - improving, or we can move to adapt and adjust to live on a planet that could not give two flying fucks about whether we lived or died, loved or hated, were right or wrong. That we can create something that is better, rather than condemn it for what it is not.

[@jakeb4836]

These two guys managed to say absolutely nothing for over 11 minutes, incredible

[@brentt6714]

They're clearly well-read, but come to incorrect conclusions. They criticize the left for seeking power to solve problems but not the right for actually wielding power and creating them. These guys are criticizing a caricature of the left, not realizing they're describing themselves.

[@malcolm-danielfreeman5940]

does that make them intellectuals ?

[@isakhedeen]

thank you for commenting this, you spared me 9 minutes

[@janalbrecht3466]

Right? They just create a strawman version of "the left" because they dont like how a protest makes them feel :D and since "the left" is more complex than this strawman version, all if their analysis falls :D just go to therapy :D

[@jakeb4836]

@@malcolm-danielfreeman5940 no

[@MrMonkeyInk]

Roger Scrutin's observations that, "You'll move back to what you would have been if you had never thought at all," or that an intellectual conservative is "someone who articulates the real reasons for not having reasons - but just feeling and doing what's right," strike me as inane deepities. "The purely negative approach to the status quo is simply going to perpetuate this negativity," Scruton says. This may be true, but the approach from the left, or from the right, for that matter, is not purely negative. He strawmans the left to the point of caricature. "The typical conservative .... looks around himself and he finds things that he loves. ... . It's not often that you find someone on the left that looks around and finds something that he loves. It's alway something that has gone wrong." He says this as a conservative, sitting with another conservative, talking about the things that have gone wrong. It’s almost baffling myopea and not an accurate reflection of either left or right. The interviewer talks about 'their' attacks on capitalism and rails against "Genuine injustice in the world, on a daily basis." His example? Bookstores. The teen section has stuff about vampires and "really wierd occultic stuff," not like The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew Mysteries, when he was a lad. Here, at least, Scruton visibly squirms. "It's very corrosive ideas," the interviewer continues. "Who's picking their books?" he asks. Well, sir, it's that capitalism you champion. It's what sells. Scruton asks. "What power is advancing behind that?" and then asserts that simply asking the question necessitatate that "you ... disappear from the picture" or that, "what you said disappears from the picture." Apparently just asking the question about power necessitates the exclusion of truth. Why? Why does asking this question exclude the possibility of truth? He doesn't say.

[@iTzKneecap]

Yeah I found many of the statements attempts to point a finger at what they deem morally wrong through phrasing that implies their sense of morality is objective fact, and anyone who sees it differently is simply ignorant, when the statements laid out are based on generalizations and a lack of deeper analyzation of the roots of what they deem bad (i.e the teen novels). The implication is that there's some liberal(?) conspiracy to make kids read stuff about the occult? That's arguably an insane conclusion. That and the mention of people on the left never finding things they love - that is so far removed from reality. All people have things they love. Why do people fight against the powers which cause climate change? They love nature, they love people, and they want all those things to thrive in a better world, which is what everything can be summed up to. The attention to the negative is necessary to then create more positive in the world. They believe people should remain content with what they have, continuing the status quo despite the tragedies happening in the world, and doing nothing to make life better overall. Just because the world has beauty, doesn't mean we should ignore the ugly. If we did so, we would allow the bad to thrive and grow until one day we end up in a world that has regressed, one which loses the beauty we had once had the chance to appreciate.

[@HellsYeah8]

How is that not an apt description of the two? When I do find things that have gone wrong, its usually the result of those on the left

[@bighead8017]

All it takes is an observant eye and an ear to listen. But I doubt you’ll find any engagement from any of these echo chamber KZbin channels. Just take a look at the top comments. “Conservative intellectuals” have a strength in their vagueness. Isn’t it the responsibility of intellectuals to question the status quo? Here Scrutton desperately wants to save the status quo from the supposed “purely negative approach to the status quo” and the “lefty who can’t find anything to love”. What a cursory and crude way to characterize a movement committed to real intellectualism

[@wilsonsilva2918]

Bump

[@HellsYeah8]

@@bighead8017 Real intellectualism requires diversity of thought. The left is a hive mind

[@bryanb.386]

"Of course there is wrong. But there is also beauty and right '

[@donaldpratt2296]

I really appreciate how this video opens. Scruton starts by telling us that his beliefs are based on him spending his whole career trying to justify his opposition to some people he found uncouth. That says everything you’d ever need to know about someone.

[@alaintremaine3302]

Indeed, and when one compares the May '68 students/workers in France with today's uncouth (BLM/Antifa/Trans) rioters - they seem positively cultured and dignified!

[@phillheth]

So he spent a lifetime trying to find the opposite belief to some beliefs that he also didn't know, But that he didn't like based apparently entirely on the actions of the holders of those ideas. Scruton is a fraud and a joke.

[@donaldpratt2296]

@@phillheth exactly. Amazing that he tells on himself immediately.

[@channelnumber52]

That struck me too. Dude just said he saw some protesters being rowdy in the streets(and to give him credit, French people protest like no other that I know of in the western world) and was like, "Every belief I have is now the opposite of whatever I think they stand for". So shallow and stupid. I also like the "real reason for not having reasons." So, basically, right wing intellectuals just try and justify doing stuff based on their random feelings.

[@DavidHeffron78]

@@alaintremaine3302 what if he'd come across the Jan 6th insurrection?

[@HillbillyHippyOG]

Dude saw one group of students protesting from a distance when he was young, decided what he “knew,” and then went about shoring up that belief with research… while belittling others for not thinking openly. 🤔

[@chrisward3761]

The phrase 'they don't know their left from their right' has perhaps never been more apt! 😂

[@lorelaidelaalba4811]

Someone mentioned that ; “ The more school you have ; you loose touch with reality, and would be hard to see the common sense around you .”

[@adrianchezorts]

As a chemist PhD student, something that has been increasingly clear to me over the years is that "common sense" is a pretty weak cheat for truly understanding reality. It evolved to make us survive, not to bring us any truth.

[@k8aik8ai]

*lose*

[@ravenalbj]

I said that for the last 40 years. Wrote books but do not mention titles because the comment will be deleted. It very likely will be deleted anyway.

[@ravenalbj]

@@k8aik8ai You are one of those "intellectuals" and had to show it. Very likely the person who wrote the comment speaks a few more languages and English is not his native language. You "Intellectuals" are not only incompetent, you are miserable characters as well.

[@sammalama]

That someone is clearly the one who is out of touch. School is a place of learning, and learning creates more capable people. An educated population has always created a better society. Take a look at everything around you, from the clothes you wear to the fridge keeping your food cold. It was all engineered and designed to help you live a better life. The reason you have GPS on your phone is because people who spent a lot of time in school. The reason you are so well protected in America is because of people who spent a lot of time in school designed and built the most advanced weapons humanity has ever seen. If we stop spending time in school, other nations WONT, and they will pass us in knowledge. So I say this again, your someone is clearly the one not in touch with reality!

[@lifeisagift.cherisheverymoment]

"There are things that are deeply wrong in the world". Once one gains power, punishment is not the way to go about "fixing" those wrongs. History testifies to that.

[@thebigpicture2032]

Maybe let Trump know that.

[@lifeisagift.cherisheverymoment]

@@thebigpicture2032 Haven't you been paying attention? Trump can't be told anything.

[@thebigpicture2032]

@@lifeisagift.cherisheverymoment True enough. Revenge 2024 coming up.

[@Bozowomp]

The circle jerk of quotes and discrediting of intellects in the comments, certified KZbin conservative classic 😂

[@Gourd_gamer]

Im fucking dying bro. Just two pseudo-intellectuals trying to justify why conservatives have been wrong every time in history.

[@jaylenoschin8189]

@@Gourd_gamerme too bro!

[@DarkbaseTTV]

"The most harm of all is done when power is in the hands of people who are absolutely persuaded of the purity of their instincts-- and the purity of their intentions" - Milton Friedman

[@theventurousgamer8137]

yeah its easy in the riches time on earth after left ideas have made it so to become a conservatie to wantit all for yourself again. Back to 999.99 poor humans again thanks

[@EspoirKayihura]

@@theventurousgamer8137bro what?

[@davidzawistowski4073]

@@theventurousgamer8137 left ideas do nothing but destroy; see history

[@dmw798]

​@@EspoirKayihuraThere's a difference between education and intelligence; you have neither, "bro".

[@CTOOFBOOGLE]

So evangelical Christians would commit the most harm of all.

[@roxikoko3744]

I can sum it up in three words. "They lack wisdom". They think by being intelligent automatically grants them wisdom.

[@cowel8734]

100% facts.

[@darkstar223]

Who is they ?

[@desktorp]

@@darkstar223 Intellectuals.

[@josmith2062]

They are not 'intelligent' they are simply learned, or widely read, and proud of it. An actual intelligent person will hear something, reflect, digest it, and it will add to his wisdom. A learned person simply gathers more information for the sake of gathering, so that he can show to his peers and others how 'intelligent' he is.

[@KirkKirchev]

An intellectual is not necessarily intelligent. Don’t confuse education with intelligence

[@kartoffelman111]

This interview cements that fact. What a pointless waste of time this was, not a single argument for or against either cause. At best, this video is another thing that people with the highschool jock-mentality can send to theri friends to make fun of those who disagree with them, since they fail to notice there is no argument made in the entire video. Just a longwinded claim that liberals are stupid without any explanation whatsoever.

[@mittromney8750]

most educated people in todays time tend to be missing intelligence

[@Jay122789]

Education helps but I like to believe that true intelligence is when someone not only learns, but utilizes what they learn.

[@Boris82]

@@Jay122789 We now live in a world where 'smart' educated people (often young) push lgbtq gender ideology. So they learned something completely unreal and they are actively spreading it as if it's real. Sometimes education is miseducation.

[@Jay122789]

@@Boris82 I wouldn't consider lgbtq ideology to be unintellectual but more as a belief. Like, someone can believe in Christian values but still be intelligent, it's the same as lgbtq ideology. Just like Christians, they are trying to enforce their beliefs upon society. And I don't mean that as an attack on Christians, but that's my best analogy.

[@vitob1882]

It’s because Education makes you free thinking… and compassionate and there is nothing in the right about compassion, it’s more about individualism and intolerance.

[@tastyamericano9960]

Thats very simplistic.

[@blrbrazil1718]

The extreme left has been responsible for far more misery, death and destruction than any fascist dictator. There is nothing more intolerant than left-wing totalitarianism.

[@jeffgillson]

"We need DO SOMETHING!" -everyone who never bothered to think a situation all the way thru.

[@TrophyGuide101]

Sums up climate change protestors, their actions turn the public against them but they continue anyway because 'we have to do something'

[@nathanielhellerstein5871]

We must do something. This is something. Therefore we must do this.

[@ShastraDugan]

so do nothing then? i mean thats the opposite of doing something

[@kekxeter3505]

@@ShastraDugan it is easier to make things worse than to make them better. grand problems are very complicated and need to be thought through before demanding action

[@monkeydavefraud]

Doing is action. Thinking is inaction. They work together.

[@indioloco6600]

An intellectual is one who has been educated beyond their intelligence.

[@sbyrstall]

PhD = piled high and deep

[@notsuspiciousguy9425]

@@sbyrstall So if I get a degree in neuroscience is that worthless? Should we burn all books and go back to caveman times?

[@puncherdavis9727]

@@notsuspiciousguy9425 I can't speak to Steve's casual mock here. I can say that being "Educated and having PHD" does not mean one was presented a format into which one has critical thinking and discovery episodes. More of being spoon fed systems and ideologies that come off as inconspicuous and not suspect. Doctors and I know some even admit they are not taught to question why the system does what it does..but more along just being the best in that system for a bigger paycheck. Knowledge with wisdom ( knowing the long term consequences) of short term actions can bring into question all education.

[@IntellectuallySuperior2U]

@@sbyrstall True. lol

[@PetersPianoShoppe]

You can read Hume, and similar, and be an intellectual without being an ideologue. It takes skepticism and having a sound epistemology that one continually tests.

[@nativecompanion1562]

An intellectual is one who cares more about ideas than people. Historian Paul Johnson

[@th3orist]

to me an intellectual is one who approaches the solution for problems from an abstract ideas driven point of view instead of actual reality.

[@drakomus7409]

@@th3orist they have to be mensa members for me

[@matthewsilva8617]

Flowers for Algernon laid this out pretty well with one chapter. Experts or intellectuals in a field of study usually only know the ins and outs of the one thing they studied. It’s hard for them to connect the dots to other disciplines or knowledge when they never spent the time to learn it. ie: Neil Degrasse Tyson is a astrophysicist yet he gave bad public health advice stating we didn’t know certain facts at certain times. Well we did, he just didn’t learn the facts for whatever reason, until years later and changed his position

[@paulmcnutt6358]

'You'll move back to what you would have been, if you never thought at all.' Love it.

[@janes7227]

Conservative Intellectual with a British Accent on KZbin: "It's all about the feels really, now isn't it?"

[@david7384]

cope and seethe

[@jjroseknows777]

"Yet again, the wiser of the two hardly gets to speak."

[@naveed210]

Not a chance! Hamza Yusuf is streets ahead of him, Scruton whilst an excellent commentator on social conservatism fails to make the connection that the breakdown of the social order is down to the values encouraged by capitalism. He’s a bit of a state apologist.

[@MicahMicahel]

@@naveed210 you're confusing capitalism with corporatism. We close down all our small businesses and keep the international corporations open. That's not capitalism. We have a corporate oligarchy.... but go ahead and join in on the teenagers blaming capitalism for our troubles... capitalism is closing small businesses down. right

[@Hirnlego999]

@@MicahMicahel " you're confusing capitalism with corporatism." same thing "capitalism is closing small businesses down. right" Capitalists buy government and those with more money have more power so obviously they outcompete the smaller businesses. The thicker the wallet the more money and worth people have under a capitalistic system. Capitalists don't have a problem with operating in a country like China either. As long as it creates them more wealth and it's easier if the smaller folks are controlled and cannot unionize on their own.

[@MicahMicahel]

@@Hirnlego999 fas cism is closing small businesses down. Fas crime is the "lucrative merger of government and corporations." The small business are capitalistic enterprises but under fas cism our government in Canada closed down small businesses so they would go out of business. The big corporations made record profits. This isn't fair capitalism. :leftists always straw man the capitalism so that it's a corrupt level of capitalism. You said it yourself. China engages in capitalism. What does capitalism even mean? even communist countries have to engage in capitalism or their country will starve. Modern university students are indoctrinated into childish thinking. Universities are dead now. A degree is worthless unless you have the correct identity politic. Students can't have their thoughts challenged in this fas cist society. Imagine how corrupt this FORM of capitalism we're living under is. An honest business get s ruined by the government colluding with the biggest corporations. Every socialist system eventually turns fas cist. Communism doesn't exist. China is fas cist. They even have concen tration camps! Apparently Canada has built some. We're like Weimar Germany now. Krystia Freeland said the emergency act was to be permanent. If she wasn't voted out by our senate we'd be like CCP China. Now we're just Mussolini style fas cism. The leftists can't think anymore because of inter sectionalism. there are so many contradictions leftists can't recognize contradictions anymore. Trudeau talks about bodily autonomy now but forgets he was force vaccinating people, even babies! He doesn't give a crap about bodily autonomy and leftists don't even know they're hypocritical because they think my bodyy my choice means they can still force vax and force makes onto people. We are even forced to wash our hands sometimes! It's almost like they don't give a crap about bodily autonomy unless they just want to use it as an insincere excuse. The feminists hate Christianity but lob=ve iSlam. In Ireland Islamists cut LGBTQ+ people's heads off after they caster ted them for marching in their pride parade. Still the LGBTQ+ community aligns with ISlam! Those Christians are their targets but Islam is their political ally. There are so many contradictions that leftists lost their abilities to think.

[@Hirnlego999]

@@MicahMicahel "fas cism is closing small businesses down". No it's not, it's the big eating the littles ones, normal capitalism. Take Romney alone, his business model was to buy struggling businesses strip them of their assets and then put them into bankruptcy. " The small business are capitalistic" They could be owned by a collective too and driven by Marxists " This isn't fair capitalism." There's no such thing. Capitalism has no inherit values. "China engages in capitalism." A mixture like most, no society is either / or. "even communist countries have to engage in capitalism or their country will starve." No they don't. It wasn't communism that caused the British to starve some 40 million indians to death. "Modern university students are indoctrinated into childish thinking. Universities are dead now" No they are not, you only likely focus on one country and ignore their contributions anyhow. "A degree is worthless unless you have the correct identity politic" Complete bogus. You can be son of bitch believing in the worst things in the world but if you are good at what you do you will get hired. Or even if you are simply someone's a-hole son, you will get hired, just because you look like a pig like the others. If you have a dick you will more easily be hired. " If she wasn't voted out by our senate we'd be like CCP China" Are you even trying to live in a reality? "The leftists can't think anymore because of inter sectionalism" Really, and here I have been hearing that they are the elite who leave the rest to eat dust, they talk in a language that the common people doesn't even understand They should dumb it down like the Republicans. "Trudeau talks about bodily autonomy now but forgets he was force vaccinating people" He's not leftist. Ask any real socialist about this. He forgot he wanted to eradicate a virus? Doubtful Sheesh, perhaps he wanted back to business as usual. "they think my bodyy my choice means they can still force vax and force makes onto people. " Stop the dumb speeches. The rightwing doesn't allow you to have any body autonomy either, do try take a few drugs that are illegal. No-one gives full body autonomy. "The feminists hate Christianity but lob=ve iSlam" Utter nonsense. It's quite amazing how you allow yourself to be lied to so much and can't actually examine anything. "Still the LGBTQ+ community aligns with ISlam! " You appear to be a lost cause. You never tried to educate yourself really have you? "Those Christians are their targets but Islam is their political ally. " Actually it's the Christians and Islam which have a lot of common. See what happened last week in USA when it comes to abortion. " There are so many contradictions that leftists lost their abilities to think." Have you ever tried it actually? Do you read anything or do you just watch videos that lie to you? There's a reason the rightwing scores worse in IQ tests and knowledge tests. It doesn't matter where this is tried, it's always the same.

[@EmpowermentExperiences]

Wowwwww..... I'm so grateful this was recommended in my feed!! I enjoyed this immensely!!! Especially the general perspective of both "sides" of the political spectrum.

[@CCDR07]

I think you've had the wool pulled over your eyes if you think these people portrayed both "sides" of the political spectrum... Rather, I'd argue that their mis-characterization of "left" wing politics as a politic driven by a destructive desire to seize power and correct "the negative right" is a load of bullocks!!! For example. if anything, I'd say it's modern "right wing" politicians and ideologues who trade in, amplify, and manufacture grievances to manipulate people and achieve their political aims. Look at Trump, "let's make america great again!"... i.e. a narrative wherein here we all are suffering reduced standards of living, low wages, immigrants taking all our jobs, curtailment of "freedoms", etc., all due to the nefarious influence of "the deep state" and a leftist elite (whatever that is, he's sure not going to admit that it's oligarchs with deep pockets and entrenched wealth/power subverting democratic institutions). Vote Trump and I'll make us great again, and you won't have to continue suffering! Farage, Johnson, and fellow Brexiters are exactly the same! "Take back control", i.e. here's poor, beleaguered Britain being oppressed by a European elite, making us spend money on upholding universal human rights, accepting immigrants, enforcing environmental protections, workers rights, and other "leftist" bureaucratic nonsense. We'll take back control and these injustices and suffering will end. We can fish how we like, farm how we like, administer justice how we like, etc... If this isn't a politics of grievance used to manipulate and manufacture support, I don't know what is!? I suggest these two people in the video who have "thought a bit harder" should go and do a bit more thinking about how the creation of a left vs right political divide in modern western society only serves the interests of entrenched power and wealth. They have become strawman political positions used to divide people along non-material emotional, cultural, and identity lines, which prevent people from uniting along class lines, which is exactly where the real fight and struggles need to occur to maintain relatively equal access to material resources, justice, influence on the political process, safe and fair environments and work places, etc. If you ask me the discussion these two are having here only serves the needs of entrenched wealth and power by mis-characterizing left wing theory and action and spewing smoke screens (e.g., somehow representing the one party dictatorship that were the nazi's as some kind of left wing movement). What we should all be seeking is levelling the amount of political influence different people/groups have (in many different spheres of life) so that we can achieve greater autonomy, fairness, and justice for our citizens. Whether you feel traditional, conservative, liberal, anarchist, or whatever. It's not about left or right, it's about achieving an equitable distribution of political power so that people can sort out their governance institutions and laws themselves without coercian (social, environmental, material, or physical/violence). I don't necessarily always appreciate this guys language, but this youtube channel provides some very good, practical, analysis of political positions and movements in general. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmTGnp2Ep72Ko9U

[@onesong2001]

Your "spectrum" has two sides. 🤣

[@mArs0x0h]

A few head scratching parts: - Calling the Nazis left - Saying people on the left are not life affirming and do not love things but conservatives do - Expressing that one of the things conservatives in the US want to protect is rule of law, which is quite ironic when looking at their presidential canditate

[@jaylenoschin8189]

The head scratching thing about bias is that everyone sees it in others, but no one seems to see it in themselves. This video is a perfect example...

[@mArs0x0h]

@@jaylenoschin8189 I agree, people tend to see bias in others before they see it in themselves

[@shueydj]

"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts" - R. Feynman

[@dannygonzales7923]

SCIENCE IS THE ABSORBATION AND RECORDING PATTERNS OF NATURE BY EXPESTS !!!! ME !!!!!!

[@Hellohello10-kc9tt]

@@Schlip595 seems pretty straightforward, whats your understanding then?

[@justice_productions_]

You just can’t handle the right is the minority and doesn’t deserve any power

[@leonharrison800]

So when are conservstives and religious dogmatists experts?

[@12jalbrandao]

To make science is to question the knowledge of experts. In the middle-ages many of the "experts" were clerics, who knew the bible and what it said about the creation of the earth, and who would derive "knowledge" from the scriptures, to say the world was 8000 y.o, or flat, or what have you. To be a scientist is to know experts can be wrong, even if they are Einstein (or even ourselves). At the same time it is to admit that even if some science derived knowledge is not complete, not perfect, it may still be useful, and may apply.

[@alexbeattie6868]

Dude sees a couple young people throwing rocks and becomes a conservative for life 😂 what a mind

[@fluxtothemax23]

Isn't it crazy how he says that all liberals hold a negative disposition and carry it into their governing politics after the seizure of power? Like, chill, bro. You still sound like you're mad at the Irish kids throwing rocks at police.

[@fox1actual]

Seeing a bunch of unreasonable people acting unreasonable is pretty sensible.

[@CuriousCattery]

@@fox1actual your sentence doesn't make sense?

[@ronm9357]

😂

[@ronm9357]

Imagine if he had seen governments lobbing missiles and dropping bombs....

[@quietspark8703]

Is it really all that surprising that people who see the world only in terms of power are driven by a desire for power?

[@tovsteh]

I see that a lot in the left these days. Everything is about power structures and control. You can even be racist according to these people to a race they perceive as "in power" (white majority country). What a joke.

[@Anerisian]

If you wanted power, you’d do something else than becoming an “intellectual”.

[@SHrepairs]

That said, you must speak to people in their language... or simply overpower them.

[@ronnyj2000]

Well, that's politics; determining who gets power and why. Sorry if you don't like it

[@SHrepairs]

@@ronnyj2000 power determines politics sweet summer child

[@anapintodebarros]

The interviewer was more concerned about making his point of view than to let Sir Roger speak out his mind…

[@dpg227]

"An intellectual conservative is someone who articulates the real reasons for not having reasons, but just feeling and doing what's right." But isn't it possible that what at first felt right turned out to be wrong?

[@RobertWilliams-fk3fn]

And you just listened to the man say... Liberals only see the bad that must be corrected. MUST BE CORRECTED. You know you're a leftist?

[@MALICEM12]

Sometimes. But more often than not, human instinct is correct Thus why we have it after so many ages. And science time and time again supports this. We don't feel the ways we do for no reason.

[@soren1803]

That’s the real read why most intellectuals are left, a truly intelligent person builds a conclusion FROM evidence, conservatives search for evidence that supports their conclusion. Antisemitism is the socialism of fools, scientific racism is a solution looking for a problem, intelligent design believing a magic book over the entire history of science.

[@soulcapitalist6204]

The idea of "intellectual" is the assertion "take my word for it". These people - conservative or liberal - who are intellectuals and not experts don't back up their claims logically, almost by default.

[@umwha]

I don’t understand this quote. He’s implying conservatives don’t have reasons, they just operate on moral intuition.. which is very insulting to conservatives . Perhaps I’d really say that it’s the Far left, that has no real reasons, instead operating on pure feelings and moral indignation.

[@DynestiGTI]

11:10-11:54 this bit here was really beautiful. RIP Sir Roger Scruton

[@miovicdina7706]

I was going to say that. So glad to find your comment. 🧡 I'd add that what he said about the so-called left needing to hate what's wrong vs the so-called right finding ways to celebrate and defend what's right and good, is true. (On top of his whole statement about it being indeed beautiful, as you said.)

[@gennette22]

He put words to it so well.

[@mrhat6098]

I disagree. Academics yes...intellectuals ? No

[@pipsantos6278]

Exactly. When mental lightweights have no intellectual niche so they resort to something they can't be dominated on. Something which intellectuals will not agree with. Which translate to them dominating their on field not because they have the best minds for it, but because the best minds decided it's freakin looney.

[@andrews4596]

Hippy subverters~~~~

[@andrews4596]

It's a lust for mans praise, that acceptance of Satan's lie, and the darkness that follows into degeneracy of anarchism/communist chipping away at society as a Christian moral based society.

[@sebastiaosalgado1979]

You're correct. They're just "pseudo-intellectuals".

[@TheWorldTeacher]

MrHat Respected British anthropology professor, Dr. Edward Dutton, has demonstrated that “LEFTISM” is due to genetic mutations caused by poor breeding strategies. To put it simply, in recent decades, those persons who have leftist traits such as egalitarianism, socialism, multiculturalism, homosexuality, perverse morality and laziness, have been reproducing at rates far exceeding the previous norm, leading to a recent explosion of insane, narcissistic sociopaths in (mostly) Western societies.

[@jakewest819]

Two philosophy bros trying to prove their point over each other while bashing people who resisting the status quo. It’s not inherently misguided or ungrateful to go against the norm, sometimes things just need to be updated. I can picture these two sitting in ivory towers 500 years ago defending their lords against the dissatisfied peasants

[@johnmac333]

RIP Sir Roger . I couldn't agree more with your reason for becoming a conservative .

[@christopherworth1]

"It's so easy to destroy, to tear down..." What's much more difficult is to, over many centuries, set up a governmental. economic, and legal system tailor-made for enrichment of the privileged few so that the spawn of the hereditary ruling class, can sit in a lovely room and smugly posit the self congratulatory claims of one's moral and intellectual superiority, all the while oblivious to the irony of these pronouncements.

[@joehammond9946]

It’s easy to want to keep the status quo in place when money isn’t an issue for you

[@trondirty]

Right on. It's so ironic that he's referencing Ireland. How convenient that they forget about the centuries of atrocities that England committed against the Irish as they condemn the burning of a rich mans house.

[@jonhstonk7998]

Oh look you described socialism in practice. That’s hilarious to me.

[@christopherworth1]

@@jonhstonk7998 hilarious that you find it so.

[@jonhstonk7998]

@@christopherworth1 I come from what was once a socialist country, socialism makes a stratified upper class of parasites in the party and those worms create a worse situation for the people in the working classes, I rather die or be a medieval peasant than suffer under a socialist system, not that a left winger like you would understand it part of your ideology is the diligent denial of reality.

[@chrisj5505]

Anyone who leans too far left or right can't be too intelligent in the first place. Polarization makes people easily manipulated. Taking oneself too seriously is often a hindrance to seeing thinks as they are rather than as they appear to be due to bias.

[@troyterry6919]

Actually the left is insane. They proved that when they started saying men could become women.

[@schnitzelfilmmaker1130]

Only ones who are, are the ones who manipulate these extremes to gain power

[@malcolm-danielfreeman5940]

i disagree -its the middle that uphold and vote for parliament and government and keep them in power, its them that believe government manipulation and lies. The far left and far right know this and look for answers . In my personal experience the right fall into the most into consipracys and that stuff and naipulation because they understand very little of all known facts

[@Benzo18769]

Thomas Sowell is one the most top Intellectual of our time and he's generally on the right not far right but definitely not left

[@pablobear4241]

😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@valkymia3708]

Never confuse education with intelligence.

[@julianwynne8705]

Really, NEVER?

[@michaelcap9550]

@@julianwynne8705 The left will never under stand.

[@valkymia3708]

@@julianwynne8705 Yes. Intelligence is self-evident when challenged; as pride, ego and hubris yield towards greater understanding. Education when challenged relies solely on its own credentials. Pride, ego and hubris are the main motivators as being 'incorrect' is a threat to the veracity and certification of being 'educated'. Educated will retain falsehoods in order to preserve their status. Intelligent people seek greater understanding despite potentially being humiliated and discredited. Don't be educated, seek truth.

[@Ggaia-d9z]

Never confuse Christianity with love

[@pm2785]

@@Ggaia-d9z Never take religious advice from someone who's barely opened the book.

[@richter6699]

A lot of it can be attributed to time spent in the institutions, as opposed to working in the real world.

[@jahaevah]

From the way that these men are speaking on these issues, I believe it is coming from a position centered around capitalism being sort of a baseline of normality, instead of viewing the world in objective truth valuing humanity and nature’s delicate balance over anything else. They acknowledge that there are people who are suffering but their only response to that is “we don’t know what to do for you, but you should start looking at the better things in life. because Marxism is the only response, and that is bad” In essence.

[@ralphalf5897]

Lol Thank you for proving that you understand nothing of reality... hence the overarching point. 😂

[@masterv1be815]

@@ralphalf5897 so why don't u help him out

[@VocalBear213]

​@@ralphalf5897 could you please explain your position?

[@ralphalf5897]

@@VocalBear213 sure. Go read A Conflict of Visions and come back and you should be able to tell me.

[@VocalBear213]

@@ralphalf5897 wait. I asked you to elaborate on your mocking condescending comment and you use "go read a book" argument? If you have knowledge (hopefully i don't need to explain the difference between knowledge and opinion) can you concisely share it with us? I'm ready for a thorough and sincere discussion

[@braaitongs]

Brilliant discussion!

[@benjaminshiels1824]

Intelligence is anything but wisdom.

[@monkeydavefraud]

Yes that's intuition. Intelligent ppl are very short on growing this attribute.

[@monkeydavefraud]

Let's get vaccinated!!!

[@havable]

@@monkeydavefraud "Let's get vaccinated!!!" You always know who the anti-intellectuals are. They're the people willing to die over political posturing.

[@markrago7217]

It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently. -Fyodor Dostoevsky

[@brianhockin4854]

Intelligence minus intellect ?

[@salosegura711]

I wouldn't call those professor's teaching gender studies in university intellectual.

[@santiagoarias50]

"Whatever they believe, I believe the opposite" sounds the leit motiv of reactionary politics to me.

[@chargingbadger_]

exactly my thought. This dude is the grand wizard of reactionary politics

[@barnaclejones822]

Your entire ideology is literally just a series of perversions of what was originally considered good or bad lmao

[@torosytoros]

@@chargingbadger_ He is Burkean, how can he be reactionary?

[@williamjenkins4913]

He then said he spent the rest of his life figuring it out. 60 years of study doesnt sound too reactionary to me.

[@lakeshelor6159]

Don’t bother, they only hear what they want to hear. Doesn’t matter if that experience was when he was young, and he spent years researching after that…they don’t understand nuance or even growth because they think they have the until and final truth (in the woke neo-Marxist viewpoint) and often believe with a religious fervor.

[@joetruth5924]

Most intellectuals have spent most of their life hiding in academia and have never held a real job.

[@michaellopez-lq5fn]

I’m one minute in but he already said something that struck me. You hear some speak on people who live on instinct as opposed to intellect. If I understand this correctly he is saying that the intellect has its limits and that once you can see it’s limits you can know that your instinct and feel for life is actually more useful. I love this.

[@WisdomThumbs]

Humans are great specialists in coming to conclusions with limited data. “Instinct” is just the broadest term for such things as pattern recognition and unidentified extra senses. The key is to balance instinct with intellect, which is how we get inventors, hunters, commandos, successful farmers, etc.

[@HerculesBallsInc]

David Hume argued that man was much more of a rationalizing animal than a rational one. If you have certain ideas, you can endlessly look and unspin evidence for it and come to cherish this work so much that abandoning it to consider alternative becomes completely unacceptable. It is simply a matter of historical fact that many of the people supposed to be the most reasonable - scientists and philosophers - have often come to blows or even duels over their intellectual disagreements. True dispassion is a very hard thing, and something that can become harder the more you have to give up to attain it.

[@ironmonkey1512]

Simply following a moral code frees your mind for other pursuits

[@totalassuage]

Most people have missed the revelation that to think and make decisions, you need to be able to both reason and feel, otherwise you can get stuck in logical constructs without arriving att a resolution. It is perhaps most succintly evident in the case described by Antonio Danasio, of a banker named Eliot, who had braincancer removed along with a bit of his ventral medial prefrontal cortex, and lost his ability to make decisions because the connection between reason and feelings was severed, making him unable to fend of sharlatans or even to decide where to eat lunch on a given day, before his lunchbreak was over.

[@73NF14Ret]

This discussion reminds me of my favorite quote: “ Liberals see what they believe, conservatives believe what they see”. I know liberals hate this but I absolutely believe it is dead correct.

[@explosivemallard8038]

This is a very interesting part to me which demonstrates either a fundamental disconnection or the lenses which have become corneal transplants which was just discusses minutes prior: "The typical conservative, in my reading of events, is someone who looks around himself and he finds things that he loves, you know, and he thinks, 'well, those things are threatened. They're vulnerable, I've got to protect them.' And it's not often that you find on the left, somebody who looks around and finds things that he loves." I love spending time to enjoy nature, particularly lakes, forests, and mountains, and I wish to protect these things. From this, you can plainly tell I'm no supporter of the fracking companies which have polluted nearby waters, nor a supporter of the logging companies who clear-cut the forests of Pennsylvania for profit, nor a supporter of the mining companies, which have flattened the tops of mountains near me for, again, profit. How can exactly his point of justification of why he's right so directly apply to someone on the opposite side of the spectrum and remain a viable justification for why he's right and I'm not? I think the lens he's afraid of has become its very own corneal transplant, but his transplant won't let him see the flaws of his fallacies.

[@FaustoOriginal]

You are right, what I believe is the cause for most conservative beliefs is complacency and fear of change. They say that we've gone too far left (and in some aspects I agree) but I think it's just a cover up for those buried feelings, not a logical belief.

[@FaustoOriginal]

Also, I don't think the example you give maps one to one. In the conservatives case, if we paralyze progress as we are those things they love wouldn't be threatened. In your case, it's just a matter of time before the things you love cease to exist. Their protection requires stability while yours requires change.

[@explosivemallard8038]

@@FaustoOriginal I agree that their beliefs do depend on the stability of lack of change, but there’s a problem with that. Many years ago, their ideas would be a change from the previous norms, so conservatism seems inherently inconsistent unless they’re also advocating for things like abolishing the existence of public services like fire departments and government intervention in marriages.

[@rufusmcgee4383]

Conservatives believe what they see. Liberals see what they believe.

[@antoineguerrier2965]

It was the well-off conservatives that first fought to preserve the beauties of nature against plebeian industrialists that sought to destroy it for profit. Wanting to safeguard your country's natural landscape is inherently conservative. The issue is that 'murican "conservatives" aren't actually conservative in a lot of ways. Just like 'murican "liberals" aren't liberal in a lot of ways. The easiest thing to illustrate this with is economics. "Conservatives" are extremely liberal when it comes to regulations while "liberals" are extremely conservative. Now, it's not true for everything. When it comes to immigration, for instance, both sides fit their monikers to a T.

[@jamespardue3055]

So for him it all comes down to "I just know it in my heart that I'm right".........that IS classical conservative intellectualism.

[@tenorandguitar]

Not really, as he then went on to analyse and justify his position philosophically....whose initial and visceral feelings/life experiences/observations, initiate their political "journey"?..I suspect the majority, especially of that era. ...It's analogous to the scientific method itself, the trick being critical thinking and being able to analyse ones thoughts, the equivalent of confirmatory experiment...?

[@Jay-xh9dl]

Exactly, merely adhering to an ounce of solid intuition (because intuition is often aligned with solid moral conclusions) soaked in a liter of cognitive bias with little rational efforts to counter it. That's not intellectualism; it's anti-intellectualism. Intellectualism is the pursuit of truth; not full submission to our limitations (although, we should be good Bayesians in our pursuits and update our credences when necessary). Nevertheless, we should remain diligent in our efforts, think in terms of probabilities, and be willing to adjust our beliefs upon receiving new data. I lean left because the left generally acknowledges that while you can lack conviction in your beliefs (and to some degree, you should), you can't act/behave/participate in your community that way; you must act in accordance with the principles that you deem to be moral at any given time, and accept that those principles could change tomorrow upon discovering new evidence that may contradict your preexisting beliefs. In short, you should remain open to change, but fight for what you deem to be just at this moment using all the cognitive and other tools of reasoning at your disposal in pursuit of truth. That is intellectualism. Choosing to remain stagnant and denounce agency is not; and one must accept that his or her actions, or lack thereof, makes statements or imprints on history regardless of whether one is convicted of a belief or is even aware or not of what they are doing. So, why not choose agency? It's the morally appropriate thing to do.

[@erickcrago2637]

In my interpretation he was saying that conservative intellectuals are more likely to admit it, but that both sides do it. "Follow the Science" is a current perfect example of left leaning intellectuals using ideological appeals. Science is a thought process and methodology, not an end result. Many of the people using the term couldn't even define science or the scientific method. They were acting out of a heartfelt belief, not concrete facts. All Scruton was saying is that right leaning intellectuals are more apt to be honest about it. That is why a true scientist cannot be an atheist, merely very, very agnostic.

[@Lucaserik]

@@erickcrago2637 Isn't saying "Follow the Science" just a way to say "Pursue the truth". If anything, saying "Follow the Science" is telling people to walk beside it, even when it is ever-changing, which is far from implying it is an end result.

[@Fr33zeBurn]

@@Lucaserik The 'science' in the 50s was that lobotomies were a medical cure for ADHD. The 'science' in the 14th century was that bad smells caused disease. The 'science' in the 70s was that saturated fat causes artery blockage. Science is usually wrong, following it is a fool's errand. As he says in the video, sometimes you need to step back and realise that the best thing to do is to go with your gut and not to think about it too hard.

[@Mysterx1440]

Many, if not most intellectuals have gone straight from high school to uni and stayed there. They have never really ventured beyond the cloister. It is their safe space with no bullies, no one challenges them. They are frightened by the world and have never really thrown themselves into it.