Quote:
Originally Posted by dmaul1114
So I find your definition of an intellectual far to narrow. Anyone that's intelligent and challenges their intellect on a regular basis is an intellectual--regardless of whether they're challenging their intellect through academic work, legal work, accounting work, science, or any other type of intellectual profession, or through literature, or through both.
|
People seem to have different ideas about what an intellectual is. It always sounds like a rather pretentious word to me - can one be a proper intellectual without a smoking jacket?
Looking it up on dictionary.com, their definitions include "a person who relies on intellect rather than on emotions or feelings" and "a person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher", but I think that we've been talking about "a person who places a high value on or pursues things of interest to the intellect or the more complex forms and fields of knowledge, as aesthetic or philosophical matters, esp. on an abstract and general level".
So, if an intellectual is someone who is interested in "the more complex forms and fields of knowledge, as aesthetic or philosophical matters, esp. on an abstract and general level", perhaps we can all agree that:
- Reading pulp fiction is unlikely to contribute to that a great deal
- Reading pulp fiction is unlikely to do you any harm either
- There are lots of different ways in which you could pursue an interest in such matters, including by working in a complex field as your day job