A philosopher’s argument against the cult of achievement | Zena Hitz: Full Interview

Descartes also believed in a universal capacity for reason, and tried to bring philosophy—more specifically, the process of inquiry into the nature of reality—to ordinary people. His book ‘Discours de la méthode’ (‘Discourse on the Method’) was written in French, not Latin. This was a huge deal for a 17th-century treatise, as Latin, inaccessible to most people then as it is now, was the dominant language of Early Modern Era philosophy. And he’s just one of many key philosophers throughout history who tried in vain to spread Zena’s message.

The trouble is that our kind, regardless of social status, tends not to enjoy getting to the truth of things (I emphasise ‘tends not to’, as there are of course exceptions). Why? Well, we just didn’t evolve for it. There is no evolutionary imperative that we become perfectly objective truth-seekers, only that we live by the beliefs that keep us around. If those happen to be false (cough, cough, religion), evolution doesn’t give a damn. If it keeps us around, it works. Also, it should come as no surprise that confronting the potentially infinite scope of reality and “our frightful position therein”, to quote Lovecraft, is a daunting and therefor

One of the quiet costs of achievement culture is that we start measuring our worth by what we produce instead of who we're becoming. Success is valuable, but when every activity has to justify itself with an outcome, we lose something deeply human which is curiosity.

So pleasant to sit and listen to this lady think and speak :)

The reward for your study is not what you get for it, but what you become by it

Someone once said something like that 😊

It's always wonderful when someone rationally explains what your gut feel has been telling you for many years. I'm glad that I have been heading in this direction for some time now.

Understanding that identities are not permanent can really help an individual

School isn't about learning, it's about teaching people how to follow instructions and where they fit in the labor market.

People like her give me hope for humanity.

Another issue with learning is that public education teachers in the US, in the name of optimization, are forced to used pre-approved learning management systems with mapped out curriculum to perfect data collection. Many teachers aren’t allowed to create their own relationships with what they teach their students. This waters down intellectual thinking from both teacher and student.

This reminds me of Eric Hoffer, the longshoreman who taught himself philosophy.

“he worked on the San Francisco docks and spent his life observing human behavior. His writings on mass movements, fanaticism, and societal change earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

Some of the smartest people I’ve known were avid readers with a trade like fishing or woodwork or farming. College is a great environment (or was when I went) but reading and thinking can be done anywhere.

Being able to observe the world thoughtfully may actually be hindered by academia. I’ve met a few academics who didn’t know what they didn’t know about their apparent mastered area, but a fisherman or someone who spent more time in the field had a deeper wisdom. Curiosity, humility and experience often best academic study.

I am a coal miner and high school drop out. I am currently trying to get my book on the hard questions, philosophy and how these questions belong to every person, at some level regardless of credentials.
Not the property of ivy league institutes or on marble adorned hilltops in Greece. How i came through illness and hardship. Academia just gave us the vocabulary for questions everyone owns and everyone asks.

I'm very glad that there is no music trying to gussy this up.

I have been working since 13 and dropped out of highschool so I have no real education beyond the basics. I'm 46 now and working as an unlicensed plumber (can't get a license without school, not going back to school, dont care for it) for the last 18 years with many short carrerrs before that as well but have always had an affinity for philosophy, psychology and science despite not being able to sit still and learn in the traditional way. With the advent of modern tech I now spend about 6 hours a day listening to audio books, lectures and videos/podcasts on these subjects and it has really helped me find meaning in the boredom and drudgery of my daily toils. I want to work with my hands and my brain. Balance is key.

A lot of ordinary people have rich, complex inner lives. If they have the means to share the workings of their mind with the world, for example by writing a book, and if they manage to find modest success, the “elite” intellectuals claim them as their own, albeit an anomaly. Because it’s a threat to the already misunderstood philosophy professor’s ego that any Tom, Dick or Harry could think like them.

A person's background, environment, or circumstances may shape their experiences, but they do not determine the quality of their thinking. What matters more is the ability to observe carefully, recognize patterns across different situations, and refine one's understanding in light of new experiences. The depth of a person's reasoning is ultimately reflected in how they process the world, not in where they come from.

"There are nowadays professors of philosophy, but not philosophers. Yet it is admirable to profess because it was once admirable to live. To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust."

-Henry David Thoreau, 1854

Elites are not intellectuals. You cannot buy intelligence.

What she said about the acheivement society was very resonate. I often confuse getting good grades for actual learning.

"Language doesn't fight back in the way that reality does!" Nice