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What is the importance of intellectuals and intellectual thought in influencing the worldviews and beliefs of people, in shaping society and the world?

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    See Max Weber's Science as a Vocation (1917) as well as Politics as a Vocation (1919) – Mauro ALLEGRANZA Dec 01 '22 at 14:24
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    Welcome, guerrier. I hope you will find PSE a useful site. But I do have to say that I don't see how a perfectly general answer to this question is possible. All intellectuals, all intellectual thought, throughout the world - and across time ? There's a prior question also about the term, 'intellectual'. Its meaning is not exactly clear, not is that of 'worldview'. I know all this probably sounds very negative, but I just have in mind the barriers to answering such a wide and general question. – Geoffrey Thomas Dec 01 '22 at 17:13
  • Thanks @GeoffreyThomas. Not across time, at least presently. In areas like religion, science and politics. –  Dec 01 '22 at 17:34
  • Thanks @MauroALLEGRANZA. –  Dec 01 '22 at 17:45
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    "The work of an intellectual is not to form the political will of others; it is, through the analyses he does in his own domains, to bring assumptions and things taken for granted again into question, to shake habits, ways of acting and thinking, to dispel the familiarity of the accepted, to take the measure of rules and institutions and, starting from that re-problematization (where he plays his specific role as intellec­tual) to take part in the formation of a political will (where he has his role to play as citizen)." M. Foucault, 1984. – CriglCragl Dec 01 '22 at 22:50
  • Please define "intellectual" – armand Dec 02 '22 at 04:10
  • @armand Are you pretending not to know what is just to avoid the question? –  Dec 02 '22 at 11:20
  • No, your question is vague and unanswerable as is. I am not the only one commenting to this effect. Is a pundit an intellectual? Is any one who does white collar work an intellectual? A physicist? A sociologist? Does it require a PhD or some kind of research credit? Or just being able to voice one's opinion on media? Philosophy requires that terms are defined precisely. – armand Dec 02 '22 at 14:17
  • Intellectuals influence other intellectuals with ideas. They influence everyone else through engineering. – Scott Rowe Dec 02 '22 at 14:54
  • This question is partly addressed in the essay 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals' by Noam Chomsky. – Entry point Dec 02 '22 at 18:13

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That's a pretty broad question. The answer would vary greatly with historical periods and communications media. The answer changed radically in the 17th century, when "thinkers," especially in modern sciences, began to exert a huge material influence through the accumulation of technology. So, a better definition of "intellectual" is really needed. Does St. Paul count? Confucius? Thomas Jefferson? Do you mean only people who do not have political or military power as well? Napoleon, Julius Caesar, and Lenin had formidable intellects, but probably wouldn't be called "intellectuals" simply because they were too historically active. On the other hand, Kepler, Newton, Marx, and e.g. John Bardeen or John Von Neumann might be a few good examples of massive historical influence emanating purely from the metaphorical "armchair." While I'm not really answering your question, you might enjoy a very interesting book by Michael Hart called The 100 Most Influential People in History. It's very politically incorrect these days, but a lot of fun and very interesting. Not serious history, more of a beer debate and a great parlor game. He does rank by professions, with scientists and religious leaders heading the pack. Not many philosophers, we must note.

Nelson Alexander
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  • Thanks for the reply. It does reinforce a bit my previous knowledge about the reason age. I'll take a look at the book. –  Dec 01 '22 at 22:03