The problem with stupid : ignorance, intellectuals, post-truth and resistance
2023
Book
In the past two decades, the rise of a particular commonplace in public debate has emerged on both the Left and the Right: the threat of 'the stupid.' Far from a throwaway ad hominem, stupidity has become a key trope for both explaining and criticising the election results, culture wars and the advances of post-truth. But how do we negotiate 'the stupid' in a meaningful way? Does critique and resistance depend on the mobilisation of intellect, and what does the prevalence of stupidity as a commonplace suggest about the risks of such a mobilisation? What are the resources to work through it outside of condemnation or insult? Taking 'the stupid' as a primary figure in today's cultural rhetoric, Tom Grimwood uses internet memes, film and media, alongside philosophical inquiry, to present a series of interventions in the assumptions of what makes 'the stupid' dangerous and how to move beyond these assumptions into effective resistance -- back cover.
Item Details
ISBN:
- 9781803410760
- 1803410760
Description: viii, 149 pages ; 22 cm
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Control Number: 3270674
Publisher: Winchester, UK ; Washington, DC : Zer0 Books, [2023]