It is commonly observed that the intellectuals are increasingly withdrawing themselves from the world and retiring into the insular cells of academic exercise. But Edward Said feels that as intellectuals are the best brains of society, they should have a genuine interest in the order of things in society and the world. This article examines Said's arguments and stakes about the role and responsibility of the intellectual.
The present paper seeks to engage with certain crucial aspects of the Saidian formulations of and about the intellectuals. As an Arab Palestinian working as a professor of literature in an elite American institution, Said was fighting injustice and discrimination at all levels all through. This struggle against his overarching surroundings of power and politics also gets reflected in his deliberations on the role of the intellectuals in an increasingly globalized and conformist world.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Edward W. Said and the Responsibility of the Intellectual
- Speaking the Truth to Power
- The Truth and Its Modalities and Implications
- The Role of the Intellectual
- The Intellectual as a Minority Community
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper explores Edward Said's views on the role and responsibilities of intellectuals in a world increasingly dominated by free market forces and conformist values. It examines Said's critique of the tendency for intellectuals to withdraw from the world into specialized fields, and his call for a renewed commitment to ethical action.
- The importance of speaking truth to power
- The role of intellectuals in challenging oppressive power structures
- The relationship between intellectual work and ethical-political contexts
- The distinction between traditional and organic intellectuals
- The need for intellectuals to be both committed to society and independent of tradition
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Edward W. Said and the Responsibility of the Intellectual: This chapter introduces the main themes of the paper, including Said's critique of the withdrawal of intellectuals from the world and his call for a renewed commitment to ethical action. It also outlines Said's key ideas about speaking truth to power and the role of intellectuals in challenging oppressive power structures.
- Speaking the Truth to Power: This chapter examines Said's view on the intellectual's responsibility to critique power and authoritarianism. It analyzes his concept of "speaking truth to power" as a pragmatic strategy for bringing about positive change.
- The Truth and Its Modalities and Implications: This chapter explores Said's position on the nature of truth and its relationship to context. It examines his resistance to poststructuralist ideas about the multiplicity of truth, while also acknowledging the influence of poststructuralism on his thinking.
- The Role of the Intellectual: This chapter delves into Said's ideas about the intellectual's role in society. It discusses his argument that intellectuals must be both committed to society and relatively independent of tradition.
- The Intellectual as a Minority Community: This chapter analyzes Said's engagement with the ideas of Antonio Gramsci and Julien Benda on the nature of the intellectual community. It examines Said's preference for Gramsci's concept of the organic intellectual, which sees intellectuals as fulfilling a particular set of social functions.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key terms and concepts explored in this paper include: intellectual responsibility, speaking truth to power, ethical action, poststructuralism, truth, power structures, organic intellectual, traditional intellectual, Gramsci, Benda, Said.
- Quote paper
- Dr. Jaydeep Chakrabarty (Author), 2015, Edward Said about the Responsibilty of the Intellectual, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/298445
