https://doi.org/10.31261/errgo.14754
If, as Hannah Arendt stated in Eichmann in Jerusalem, evil is thoughtless, can thinking protect us from evil? In the first part of the article, I make a distinction between intellect (which follows the logic of thinking) and reason (which follows the ethics of thinking). I put forward the thesis that if the ethics of thinking (reason) does not guide the logic of thinking (intellect), it breeds evil and fanaticism. In the second part of this text, I address causes of contemporary thoughtlessness, including mediocrity, pragmatism, measurability, and the dominance of the mercantile mentality. The final part of this essay emphasizes the responsibility of universities (especially in the area of the humanities) and, in broader perspective, of culture, for the education of reason.
Download files
Citation rules
Cited by / Share
No. 47 (2023)
Published: 2024-01-25
10.31261/errgo
English
Język Polski