This-essay is a7807072.htm which is available at the
web-site www.essayz.com. See more notes at the bottom.
Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay
By-Months By-Years By-Words
Webs of Like-&-Un-Like ESSAYS <==> Like-&-UN-Like This-One
==========================================================
%VALUING KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS 780707
Intellectuals have a habit of affirming the value of
abstract truth, knowledge, and skills. They rarely
question the value of spending time considering truths, or
working to increase knowledge, or developing skills.
There is little intellectual concern for setting
priorities among all the possible truths to consider,
knowledge to augment, or skills to develop. They are all
good. Concern for any of them is good. In no case can
concern/interest be unwise---if it is focused upon truths,
knowledge, or intellectual skills. Questions of relative
value are not raised. In fact, by collusion it is agreed
that questions of value are not present in the
intellectual life. Political questions about the
allocation of scarce resources are by collusion not real
questions. They are "dirty" considerations which belong
outside the ivory towers among un-educated people.
Intellectuals are always spending their time wisely---
because they are always concerned with truths, knowledge,
and skills which may some day be used to serve mankind.
The intellectual collusions are thus used to justify the
traditional intellectual habits---and the status quo
distribution of power.
Intellectual honesty demands that intellectuals seek
to transcend their traditional collusions---and rejoin the
human race in honest political activities within which
scarce resources are allocated in a democratic way. Games
of self-deception are not intellectually honest, even when
they are thoroughly mutual among the most respected
intellectuals of the nation or world. Dishonesty is
dishonesty, even if it is respectable. The politics of
the intellectuals have to do with the allocation of human
resources---students' creative abilities. To pretend that
there are no value judgments made by intellectuals---is to
engage in a game of mutual self-deception. Diverting
adolescents' critical abilities away from gaining insights
into intellectuals' collusions---is a political act of
major proportions. Diverting adolescents' creative
abilities into diversionary research to bolster
professors' egos---is also a political act of importance
to the taxpayers who fund the research. The academic
community is part of the political process of the nation.
Truth is not beyond politics. The choice of which truths
to focus upon---is a political choice!
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
www.essayz.com Search for Integrity and Honesty
(On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)
==========================================================
Lines beginning with a percent sign are KEYWORDS for use
in ESSAY-System Searches. Their terminal digits are dates
of writing in the format @yymmdd#, where @ = a means 99,
@ = b means 20, and # = is a within-date essay-count.
Links to date-adjacent essays are near page top & bottom.
Find the following links by clicking on CENTER when CENTER
near the top or bottom of a web page of essayz.com
1. Go to HOME PAGE of essayz.com
2. Find brief-essays via keywords
3. Find brief-essay about ADDICTION
4. Search-Helps related to ABOVE-LINK
5. GoTo Action & Information Center
6. Find Regular-Essays via Year/Month
7. Find Regular-Essays via Word-Starts
8. Find Regular-Essay about LOVE
This-essay is a7807072.htm which is available at the
web-site www.essayz.com. These 5 lines echo top lines.
Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay
By-Months By-Years By-Words
Webs of Like-&-Un-Like ESSAYS <==> Like-&-UN-Like This-One