Intellectuals, pseudo-intellectuals and ignoramuses

Someone called me a pseudo-intellectual the other day. This person said i was a phony, passing off as an intellectual. I was not offended, but piqued about what she meant. I started to wonder what or who is this animal called an "Intellectual".

Infact, that is the last thing that i try to come across as. My self-image is that of an ignoramus. An intellectual is the last thing that i consider myself. I have no "intellectual " inclinations ( though i do read and write quite a bit). I think this word ( much like Advertising) has been over-rated. These two areas of human endeavour ( intellectualism and Advertising) are often mis-understood and often over-rated. Both cannot change the world. Both are supposed to be confined to higher mortals who have god-given talents and hence in some way superior to others.

Let us first look at who an intellectual is. To me, an intellectual is by definition who is in love with knowledge, to whom truth is paramount and all other temptations ( power, wealth) are of no significance. By this definition, most of our "intellectuals" alive today would be ruled out as "anti-intellectual".

Also, i abhor the types who are so full of themselves, bitter, angry at someone/ something and so arrogant with their supposed knowledge that nothing is bigger than themselves.

Does education have anything to do with being an intellectual ? Well, I suppose yes, but these are mutually exclusive. One does not have to be educated to be an intellectual. The prophet Muhammad was illiterate but considered one of the greatest intellectuals. Consider his contribution to feminism : He is the first who suggested in 7th century arabia that women have the right to divorce and the right to property. The so-called enlightened Europeans were grappling with these issues until recently and are still not sure about these issues.

Anyway, more later.