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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Just Finished Reading: The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby

I impulse bought this a few weeks ago whilst browsing through the 3 for 2 section in Waterstone’s bookstore. I’ve wondered for a while why the US was unique in its disbelief in Evolution for example. I hoped that this book could enlighten me on the subject. In some ways it did – at least partially.

Susan Jacoby attempts to answer this question: What is it about American Society that makes so many people anti-intellectual? Ultimately after a smidge over 300 pages I think she actually fails to answer that question – though she does provide some interesting hints and ideas along the way. The final destination might have been disappointing but the journey was generally worth it. Rather predictably, and somewhat inevitably, Jacoby points one of her fingers at the dumbing effects of television. To an extent I can agree with her. It is not unusual for me to cycle through every channel – however many there are – and discover that there is simply nothing worth watching and even less that is in any way challenging, mind expanding or remotely educational. Such things are, however, not particular to either side of the Atlantic Ocean. Her other major hobby horses are the decline in book readership and a similar decline in good conversation (sapped by the fact that everyone is watching the boob tube). Again I can agree with her up to a point. We seem to talk a lot these days – on mobile phones and on-line – but we don’t seem to be saying very much. I enjoy chatting as much as the next person but find that most conversations are ephemeral at best. The Art of Conversation is, I’m afraid, pretty much extinct. Regarding books and reading, I know several people who proudly boast that they have never read a book since school and wear such a declaration as a badge of honour. The average person – I read somewhere – reads on average three books a year. But I also see people reading books everywhere and I nearly always have to stand in line at bookshops. I can’t say for certain what it’s like in the US but books are far from dead over here.

Throughout her book Jacoby does point out some unique features of American society – as contrasted with European examples – that might point to the reason (she contends) that Americans are much more likely to be anti-intellectual (and by implication dumb) than other Western style countries. She mentions a lack of national educational standards and national agreed upon curricula. She, interestingly I thought, puts forward the idea that the lack of a State religion allows people who dissent to simply form one more to their liking rather than rebel against something thereby forcing themselves to think outside the box. She points to the Right’s ability to label the Left as Intellectuals and elitists who cannot be trusted because of the previous association with Communism. She lays a fair amount of blame at the door of the 60’s Counter-Culture and the Right-wing backlash both of which damaged the application of reasoned discourse. She blames the decline of serious magazines and the widespread dumbing down of culture to what people can absorb during the average visit to the toilet and, of course, she lays a great deal of blame at the feet of fundamentalists and the apparent growing number of people who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, an idea which is anathema to the very concept of critical thinking.

Despite all of this I don’t think she makes a strong enough case for American exceptionalism. Many of the things she points to happened in Europe too – though maybe not to the same extent. Yet intellectuals are still held up as heroes especially in Continental Europe and even here in the UK. I suppose that the obvious difference between both cultures is that of religion. Europe appears to be divesting itself of its love affair with ancient myths whist the US is unique in the West by not only retaining its religious beliefs but seemingly strengthening them. This in itself is very odd and needs to be explained. However, I don’t think that this phenomenon in itself can explain American unreason. So, although the book was interesting, informative and well argued I think that Susan Jacoby failed to make her case. Despite this I think that she gave it a good run for its money and made some very good points. I certainly know much more about the reasons behind American culture than I did before reading this book and I’m glad that I did so. Jacoby’s book is well written and will give readers much to think about. Recommended.

9 comments:

Karla said...

I agree that American education leaves much to be desired. However, I say that not ever having attending a public school except for college. I was disappointed by the two colleges I attended at their lack of challenging classes. I repeatedly tried to take the most rigorous of writing courses only to find in one case my professor to be more intent on fostering class discussion on the subject of essays rather than on writing and in the other case my professor preferred pictures inserted into essays over well crafted essays. Both were advance English classes. Neither were worthy to be a college level class. Many history classes had mostly open book tests. Nothing was as difficult as the private Christian high school I attended. The standards were much lower than I experienced in high school.

I am always amazed by those who don't read. I just finished book 34 for the year and am reading book 35. I wish I had read more this year, but I write as often as I read.

Anyways, thanks for sharing this book review.

CyberKitten said...

My State education was OK. I had some pretty good teachers who encouraged me to read more - my English teacher leant me her copy of 1984 for which I will ever be greatful and my Maths teacher leant me a book on the understanding that I leant him a book... forcing me into buying books knowing that I'd basically get two for the price of one. I found that as I got older, and moved up in education, I liked it more and more. My College education was much better than in High school and I loved my time @ University. So much so that I've been back twice so far and intend to keep going back until I'm dead. I'm definitely hooked on learning stuff!

karla said: I just finished book 34 for the year and am reading book 35. I wish I had read more this year, but I write as often as I read.

Good for you. I get quite strange if I don't read for a while - as if I need it to function or something [grin]. I've posted 47 book reviews here so far this year and have another two lined up to do. Getting my weekends back now that my latest course has finished helps. I'll certainly meet my 'target' of 60 books this year. These days my passion seems to be history, but I'm still reading philosophy and aim to read more politics and science - whilst continuing to read SF of course!

Stephen said...

She and Neil Postman seem to be alike in worshiping the pre-telegraph print culture. I darken the door of that temple at times myself.

I would be interested in an author doing a compare-and-contrast between the United States and Canada in exploring similarities to western Europe's better features -- the panning of religion, for instance.

dbackdad said...

I believe the biggest factor in America that fights intellectualism, scholarship, and science is religion. It sounds like she touches on that but I don't know how much. I've never really thought about whether having a State religion would change that or not. But I certainly see how different religions over here try to teach their kids in their own manner. The vast majority of home-schooled kids are taught that way for religious reasons.

" ... She points to the Right’s ability to label the Left as Intellectuals and elitists who cannot be trusted because of the previous association with Communism." -- I found that so ironic. Communist movements generally (the Khmer Rouge, for example) are anti-intellectual. But then again, the Right has never let history or fact get in the way of a good myth.

CyberKitten said...

sc said: She and Neil Postman seem to be alike in worshiping the pre-telegraph print culture.

There is indeed a pervasive sense on nastagia in this book. She has a deal of scorn for the Internet and in particular chat rooms, blogging and facebook. She does also mention at least once the pleasure of late night conversations before television became so all demanding.

sc said: I would be interested in an author doing a compare-and-contrast between the United States and Canada in exploring similarities to western Europe's better features -- the panning of religion, for instance.

I think that it was one of the things missing from this book. Although it was centrally about American culture she didn't really contrast it with anything else (or only in passing) which would have helped her case a lot.

dbackdad said: I believe the biggest factor in America that fights intellectualism, scholarship, and science is religion. It sounds like she touches on that but I don't know how much.

She does touch upon it - indeed gives that very topic a whole chapter to itself - but doesn't lay the blame of American anti-intellectualism at the door of religion or even fundamentalism. I think she sees that as a 'special case' of a more general anti-intellectualism. I think that I'd have to agree with her. There does seem to be an odd idea that you can know "too much" or be "too smart" or some such nonsense and not only on your side of the Atlantic.

dbackdad said: Communist movements generally (the Khmer Rouge, for example) are anti-intellectual. But then again, the Right has never let history or fact get in the way of a good myth.

They certainly don't handle dissent well. [laughs] Jacoby was most impressed by the ability of Right wing intellectuals to hide themselves from public gaze whilst they blamed Left-wing intellectuals for just about everything. Of course the Left's love affair (over here too) with Russia both before and after Stalin and the McCarthy witch-hunts over there didn't exactly enhance the reputation of the intellectual Left.

Laughing Boy said...

2009 Nobel Prize Tally:

US (land of the anti-intellectual): 6 in Physics, Chemistry, & Medicine.

China: 1 in Physics

Israel: 1 in Chemistry

UK:1* in Chemistry

Germany: 1 in Literature

* Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was educated in the US and has dual India/US citizenship.

Laughing Boy said...

2009 Nobel Prize Update:

US: 2 in Economics

As it stands the US has gathered twice as many 2009 Nobels as the rest of the world combined (and that's not counting Ramakrishnan).

CyberKitten said...

LB - I think you're missing the point of the book. It's not about the decline in intellectualism or of intellectuals but the growth in American Culture of anti-intellectualism. Basically she's putting forward the idea that the general populations attitude to the intellectual is frosty at best and downright antagonistic at worst. This is what the book attempts to explain.

Laughing Boy said...

In pointing out the Nobel laureates I was just trying to show that, for those people who choose to excel in the learned professions, America provides plenty of opportunities. After all, the brightest people from around the world still come here to study.

And that we're still smarter. :-)

I would agree with Jacoby that some part of whatever anti-intellectualism (AI) exists in American culture is in reaction to the remnants of 60's counter-culture (if that's what she says), which itself was a reaction against the repressive conservatism of the generation before them. Round and round the culture wheel it goes.

Putting aside the publicity AI got during the Bush Administration, I wonder whether it is really more pervasive in America than in other prosperous Western societies. My experience with various British media outlets would indicate that it's not. But then my contention is that the media outlets don't accurately represent the society as much as caricature it.