On Julien Benda's famous 1927 work.
We continue on the theme of 'Intellectuals and the Public' by discussing the often cited by little read The Treason of the Clerks. We ask:
If Benda was responding to the intellectuals' role in the Dreyfus Affair and WWI, was he already a man out of his time?
What are intellectuals' proper role in society? Can they be abstract universalist moralists?
Benda laments the end of humanism – can we endorse this lament, even if things are too far gone now?
Is Benda a centrist dad, urging us all not to get too passionate or engaged?
How do Benda’s ideas related to Gramsci’s notion of the traditional versus the organic intellectual?
If Benda was critical of the 'realism' of his day – as opposed to the detached ethics of pre-20th century intellectuals – how might we use Benda to critique the cynicism of today?
Readings:
Treason of the Intellectuals, Mark Lilla, Tablet (from preface to new edition)
The Treason of the Intellectuals, Niall Ferguson, The Free Press
Julien Benda’s political Europe and the treason of intellectuals, Davide Caddedu
Edward Said on imperialist hypocrisy on Kosova: The treason of the intellectuals, Green Left
