The Betrayal of Intellectuals

Author: Julien Benda
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Starting from the rationalist philosophy that prioritizes reason, the author demands that intellectuals remain unwavering in their pursuit of truth and ultimate truth. However, real life cannot tolerate a purely rational person, an abstracted individual, so the author himself often finds himself in an awkward situation where his arguments lack coherence in everyday life. On the other hand, the author also acknowledges that modern society has lost the soil that nourishes such sages—intellectuals. Nevertheless, he believes that if intellectuals face challenges from evil forces like fascism today, they should still stand up to uphold reason, defend justice and truth. Zigmunt Bauman calls this book a declaration of intellectuals; Edward Said says the author has established the image of intellectuals: "the independent, the one who can speak the truth to power, the honest, eloquent, extremely brave and angry person," "no matter how powerful and magnificent the worldly power may be, it can still be criticized and directly condemned."