{"id":1011,"date":"2020-08-26T18:04:43","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T18:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2020-09-29T19:54:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T19:54:16","slug":"the-cult-of-smart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/26\/the-cult-of-smart\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cult of Smart"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Cult of Smart \nand Loving the Holy Fool\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Fredrick deBoer’s The Cult of Smart<\/em> points out flaws in our societal narrative. Anthony Barr looks at how that narrative has shaped his heart, and how Christians can respond to the deification of intelligence in the modern world. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Review by Anthony Barr
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Once, in my final semester of college, I was sitting in the campus cafeteria eating dinner with a close friend. At one point in our conversation, we began to reflect on what it means to be \u201csmart.\u201d I asked my friend, \u201cWould you rather be smart, but an asshole, or dumb but kind?\u201d Immediately he quipped, \u201cWell, I know what I\u2019m supposed to say.\u201d After a long pause, he simply said, \u201cThat\u2019s a good question.\u201d<\/p>

This was not the first time I\u2019d felt uncomfortable with my own implicit valuation of intelligence as the end-all-be-all. In high school I read Flowers for Algernon<\/em>, the heartrending novel about a man with severe intellectual disabilities who undergoes a miracle surgery that turns him into a genius\u2014briefly\u2014before he slowly reverts to his original capacities. I couldn\u2019t escape the visceral feeling that in the same situation, I would absolutely kill myself after I regressed to a certain point. I grew horrified as I considered the implications for my own relationship with aging and its accompanying declines. Do I truly believe I would prefer my own nonexistence? Is simply being intelligent worth that much to me?<\/p>

Fredrik deBoer\u2019s new book The Cult of Smart <\/em>begins with one fundamental and disquieting empirical claim: Some people are smarter than others, and that is largely due to genes. On the basis of this claim, deBoer advances a straightforward argument: To the extent that we assign value to people (and ourselves) on the basis of intelligence, we do so based on accidents of birth, much like India\u2019s caste system. Meritocracy wrongly tells \u201cgifted kids\u201d that we deserve every success that comes our way, that our elevated and comfortable positions in the \u201ccreative class\u201d are the deserved fruit of our labor. The Cult of Smart<\/em> instead insists that we got lucky, and then asks if we should be content with a society that increasingly reserves economic stability, dignified work, and social respect for those lucky enough to be born with the right genes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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It is illiberal and inhumane to adapt Social Darwinism as a sorting mechanism to determine who is cared for and who is abandoned by our society.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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At the onset, deBoer provides some caveats to his argument. First, he is clear that genes are not the only<\/em> factor\u2014nature matters most, but nurture matters too. Second, he is also clear that this posited differentiation in intelligence is on the individual level; it is not a group trait. He is decidedly not advocating for pseudoscientific claims about the superiority of one race or gender over another. Even with these caveats, the claim is uncomfortable, and not something we\u2019re inclined to talk about in polite company. It\u2018s one thing to say that some people have access to better tutors, better schools, and better extracurricular activities than others: If you\u2019re not smart, it\u2019s society\u2019s fault. It\u2019s much harder to admit that much of the potential for intelligence is rooted in what is innate: It\u2019s just not in your genes, sorry. Here, too, deBoer anticipates a fear, namely that the emphasis on genes could lead to eugenics. He responds by arguing that scientifically, we are very far from anticipating how genes and environment will impact a person\u2019s intelligence. But beyond that, the central point of deBoer\u2019s argument is that society shouldn\u2019t <\/em>value persons on the basis of their intelligence. Thus, eugenics is just the extreme endpoint of a categorical error that society (myself included) makes all the time.<\/p>

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Though deBoer dodges a number of landmines, The Cult of Smart <\/em>falls short in that he doesn\u2019t actually define intelligence. Indeed, he takes IQ tests, SAT tests\u2014any form of quantifiable test designed for specific kinds of reasoning\u2014as his assumed basis, as though \u201cintelligence\u201d were a microbe you can study under a microscope. (Is the mechanic not expressing impressive intelligence in the work of her skilled repairs?) But I don\u2019t think that shortcoming undermines the book\u2019s central observation\u2014that talent is not distributed equally\u2014nor the central argument, that it is illiberal and inhumane to adapt Social Darwinism as a sorting mechanism to determine who is cared for and who is abandoned by our society. Let the alt-right blood-and-soil fanatics sing of Teutonic strength; I am not interested in a world where only the smart or strong can flourish.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Confessing that I am knee-deep in the cult of smart is a necessary first step to escaping it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Yet for all my humane values, I must still go back to that conversation in the cafeteria. Despite my liberal arts training, despite being formed by Catholic social teaching that affirms the dignity of every person, despite even my own genuine love for many people who are not as \u201csmart\u201d as I am\u2014still, I cannot say honestly that I\u2019d prefer to be dumb and kind. I\u2019m deeply attached to being smart, and almost as deeply attached to being perceived as such. Maybe it\u2019s time for me to name things correctly. Earlier I spoke of a categorical error. That is too benign. It is sin. To the extent that I value myself falsely, that I obscure the reality that the dignity of my humanity is a gift of grace and not a personal achievement, I am warped by pride, the chief of vices.<\/p>

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Confessing that I am knee-deep in the cult of smart is a necessary first step to escaping it. And while I affirm much of deBoer\u2019s argument for deconstructing the structures of meritocracy in society at large, I am also left realizing how much need I have for the peeling away of sinful structures in myself\u2014in how I think, and how I feel. In the end, I am left with one prayer: that in a world of would-be kings, I would learn to be a holy fool.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Anthony M. Barr<\/strong> is a recent graduate of the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, and a recent Fellow at the Hertog Foundation in DC. He is currently pursuing his MPP at Pepperdine University. Anthony has done research on political theory, education policy, and civic and moral virtue for various nonprofits, businesses, and independent publishing companies.<\/em><\/p>

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The Cult of Smart<\/em><\/strong> is published by MacMillan Publishers, who graciously provided a copy of the book to our reviewer. You can purchase a copy on their website here<\/a>.
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Anthony Barr takes a look at the spiritual implications of a society that worships intelligence–and at his complicity in the cult of smart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[34,29,30,28,31],"class_list":["post-1011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-newsletter","tag-catholic","tag-education","tag-intelligence","tag-smart","tag-social-consciousness","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/The-Cult-of-Smart-3D.jpg?fit=1500%2C1383&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1094,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions\/1094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json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