Philosophers and religious teachers have always tried to show us the way to insight and wisdom. In this book, philosopher Lars Svendsen presents us with an alternative route: Don’t try to become wise, rather try to become stupid! If you manage to get rid of the stupidest notions and the most idiotic thought processes, your life will be much better. And perhaps wisdom can arise as a fortunate side effect of this newfound lack of foolishness. Stupidity or idiocy But what exactly is stupidity, and who are the stupid people? Stupidity is naturally a diverse and multifaceted phenomenon. Here Svendsen launches a rather original (but not directly idiotic) distinction within the typology of stupidity: The distinction between stupidity and idiocy. For Svendsen, it is stupidity not to think independently, but only to base oneself on childhood teachings, conventions and popular opinion. Idiocy, on the other hand, can arise if one breaks free from collective, inherited opinions and thinks freely, with wild castles in the air and delusions as a result. You can say that conservatives tend towards stupidity, while radicals tend towards the idiotic. No help from intelligence Svendsen has really gone to great lengths in this study of the innermost being of folly. The list of literature is a long and impressive overview of authors who have either said something wise about our capacity for dusty thinking, or who have contributed excellent examples of this kind. One of the most depressing points in the book is that intelligence and size of book collection do not help. The more intelligent and well-read you are, the wilder theories you can believe. If we follow Svendsen, it is often the philosophers who are the worst! It is from one’s own that one must have it. Philosophers are rarely stupid, but they can occasionally end up in ideas that can hardly be called anything other than idiotic. As examples of lost philosophers, Svendsen mentions Aristotle, Schopenhauer and Heidegger. All of them are undeniably significant thinkers, and far smarter than those you meet on the street. Yet they believed in ideas and theories so far-fetched that it is hard to imagine. And that is precisely the point: Philosophers are able to imagine things that are difficult for ordinary people to imagine, which will often include a good deal of vague talk and pure nonsense. Counterweight to biased certainty Svendsen is good when he shows how stupidity is impervious to counterarguments, because it readily dismisses everything that does not fit into its own worldview. The fool confuses stubbornness with firmness of principle, and is probably quite proud of his ability not to change his mind, just because some besserwisser comes along and proves him wrong. In the manner of the good philosophers, the author urges critical thinking and humility, as a counterweight to the slanted confidence that characterizes stupidity and idiocy. And, yes, you must “think soulfully”, to avoid becoming a prisoner of narrow-minded traditions. DILIGENT PHILOSOPHER: Lars Fr. H. Svendsen (b. 1970) is employed at the University of Bergen. As an author, he has published a number of books on subjects such as boredom, evil, fear and loneliness. Photo: CF-WESENBERG But you also have to anchor your ideas in a collective sense, to avoid the worst idiocy that lies in doubting your own completely personal truth. You must, as the subtitle of the book says, think together with others. This is reflected in who it is that is referred to as the stupid ones. Because here it could be tempting to talk about us, the enlightened ones: the writer and the reader, as opposed to all the other idiots out there. But, no. In this book, the reader is not spanked. Svendsen states that we are all stupid and idiots, at least part of the time. No one goes free! The goal is to discover your inner fool, your most personal inner idiot, and nurture him. To that end, I think “Stupidity, idiocy and stupid idiots” is an excellent introduction. The book is exemplary clear and remarkably easy to read. It is also quite entertaining, it is not without reason that precisely human stupidity has provided satirists and jokers with material for years. If you are now thinking that you know many people who could benefit from reading this book, you have probably missed the point. Feel free to buy it as a gift for your nearest and dearest. Yourself. news reviews Photo: Kagge Title: “Stupidity, idiocy and stupid idiots” Author: Lars Fr. H. Svendsen Publisher: Kagge Genre: Nonfiction Number of pages: 147 Date: 1 August 2024 Hi! My name is Ola Hegdal, and I read and review books for news. Preferably crime and suspense literature, or non-fiction. Feel free to read my review of “The Anomaly” by Hervé Le Tellier, “You are a farmer” by Kristin Auestad Danielsen or “The Night Runner” by Karin Fossum. Published 03.08.2024, at 11.30 am
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“Stupidity, idiocy and stupid idiots” by Lars Fr. H. Svendsen – news Culture and entertainment
