This is an interesting video about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity. He argues that stupid people are more dangerous than evil people, because you can’t reason with stupid people.
He’s using “stupid” more along the lines of indoctrinated (I wonder if there’s a translation issue), and the whole argument reminds me of the saying “you have to be educated to be this stupid.” (“Educated” in this case meaning a false education that indoctrinates.)
I haven’t watched…
But, I’ve thought about this before…and some smart people are just as entrenched in their views. And, if they know they’re smart, well then, good luck trying to convince them they’re wrong. It’s more than smart or stupid, but rather about humility.
I saw Neil de Grasse Tyson or some guest like him on Real Time with Bill Maher. I was actually horrified of what would happen if a man like that got into power. His attitude to everyone who didn’t agree with him was more or less *they’re idiots, fuck them.*
I don’t know that much about Tyson, but you’re exactly right that there are lots of smart people who look down on everyone else and reject their opinions. They’re dictators in waiting.
I’ve been toying with a strange theory recently. Our brains do lots of things we’re completely unaware of. It seems to me that people vary in how much they’re aware of what’s going on inside their own heads. For example, some people are very in touch with their emotions, and can recognize and explain them quickly and easily. I don’t think they have more emotions, they’re just more aware of them.
Could something similar be going on intellectually? For example, some people naturally, instinctively reject certain ideas, and would be hard pressed to explain exactly why. Is the person who can explain their reasonings “smarter” than the person who can’t?
I think Tyson was also saying something to the effect that the world would be better if scientists were in charge. That horrified me. I immediately thought of all the evil you can do when you’re convinced you’re right and “the science” agrees with you. The Nazis trotted out their scientists to approve their eugenics programs and the superiority of the “Aryan” race.
Who can argue with “science”? However, “the science” does change. Later on, after gathering more data, we realize we were wrong and need to change “the science”. Like heliocentrism for instance… Science evolves. People try to make conclusions with the data they know and understand until more comes in later.
Putting scientists in charge would be a catastrophe, and it says a lot about Tyson that he believes that would be a good idea.
A good scientist is good at science — and usually only a very narrow slice of science. That does not make him good at public policy.
Another thing is that smart people are clever about justifying their own beliefs to themselves, in the face of challenges. If you’re clever, you can come up with all kinds of intellectual dodges for something that a less intellectually sophisticated person might greet with, “Huh, I never thought of that.”
That’s a good point. A clever person can explain / justify his beliefs more effectively, and is therefore more insulated from having to admit that he’s wrong.
QUOTE: He argues that stupid people are more dangerous than evil people, because you can’t reason with stupid people.
Is it accurate to say stupidity is worse than evil? How would one measure what’s ‘worse’ relative to their impact on society? The video claims that evil isn’t as bad because it can be exposed and prevented by force. Yet, within some contexts, both stupidity and evil can be limited or confined to lessen their impact on society. Could it be worse to have evil people willfully intent on manipulating the stupid ones to enact their malicious intentions? Seems as if this is a bit more complex than what’s being described in the video.
I agree that it’s complex. I also wonder if there’s more to “stupid” (in the German) than we’re getting here. It seems that he’s using stupid in the sense of “useful idiot.” And then the question becomes, which is worse, the few evil people who promote a horrid ideology, it the millions of useful idiots who become the enforcers?
QUOTE: And then the question becomes, which is worse, the few evil people who promote a horrid ideology, it the millions of useful idiots who become the enforcers?
How do we know there’s only few evil people?
As well, if the video is correct that evil can be exposed and stopped by force, wouldn’t society benefit more by stopping the evil ones (eliminating potential destructive ideologies) and allowing the stupid ones follow more benevolent ideologies?