As we sit in our classrooms, take notes, read books and listen to instructors, we learn the fundamental pillars of learning that we are told to take with us throughout our lives. We learn the scientific method, methods of abstraction and the importance of rational thinking and deductive logic. And yet, when we turn on the news or look at social media, we see these same qualities that we have been told to hold at the utmost importance be dismissed, misused or outright ignored. Politicians advocate for the banning of books that challenge their ideologies or question their authority, massive corporations argue against well-founded research and popular influencers use emotionally charged buzzwords to instigate reactions in their audience rather than use their platform for education and change.
American culture and media have seen a surge in anti-intellectualism, a term denoting the systematic denigration of science-based facts and the pursuit of theory and knowledge. This trend knows no party lines and is immune to no one, instead, it is a tool for those with power to wield so they can control and mislead those without it. We at the Tower believe that our generation must learn to detect anti-intellectual propaganda and combat it with critical thinking, open-minded discourse and a commitment to truth. It is through these tools that we can ensure that knowledge remains a force for progress, rather than a casualty of manipulation.
To combat anti-intellectualism we must first understand the forms it comes in. Richard Hofstadter, an American historian and one of the foremost researchers on the subject, outlined three unique forms of the phenomenon through his research and his book “Anti-intellectualism in American Life.”
The first form Hofstadter details is unreflective instrumentalism. While linguistically verbose, it essentially means the stigmatic view that the pursuit of knowledge is unnecessary unless it can be wielded for practical means; it’s the preference of conventional wisdom over intellectual interests. However, we see examples of the opposite being true throughout history like when intellectual understandings of virology led to the creation of vaccines and intellectual explorations in philosophy and ethics have challenged oppressive systems like the Jim Crow Era in America and apartheid South Africa. We at the Tower believe that unreflective instrumentalism is unproductive and harmful to both individuals with conventional or intellectual wisdom as it creates a false dichotomy between the two, undermining the value that each form of wisdom brings to society.
The next two forms of anti-intellectualism that Hofstadter deals with are religious anti-rationalism and populist anti-elitism, both dealing with the rejection of intellectual knowledge or institutions in favor of reactive decision-making based on gut feelings, morals or religious absolutes. Victims of this line of thinking may support the modern creationist movement despite many fossil records proving otherwise or may discredit college professors or scientific researchers solely because they represent the social or intellectual elite. We at The Tower believe that all intellectual authority deserves to be challenged, but doing so only because these positions of authority exist and debasing logic and fact in favor of ideology or personal bias prevents meaningful progress.
While a seemingly abstract issue, anti-intellectualism is especially relevant to us as high schoolers. We consume mass amounts of media daily, whether through social media, the nightly news or our family, and we need to be aware of how that media is being conveyed to us. Anti-intellectualism is used as a weapon to keep an iron grip on the ideas or systems that protect groups and individuals with power and privilege. We at the Tower believe that as the future of the country and the next generation of voters and political activists, we must be cognizant of misinformation and propaganda strategies used by people in power that confirm our biases and prey on our fears to persuade us of narratives that are against our best interests.
In a world where ignorance is often weaponized and truth is frequently distorted, it is our responsibility as the next generation to value intellect, question authority with reason and commit ourselves to the pursuit of knowledge—not just for our own growth, but for the progress and preservation of society.
