Date: Friday, February 7, 2014. 12:00 PM.
Location: Encina Hall West, Room 208
Numerous well known Western intellectuals were favorably impressed by various 20th century dictators of different political persuasions including Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro and others. Their positive assessments (short lived, or more enduring) were closely related to the appreciation of the political systems the dictators presided over, as well as the ideals which ostensibly inspired these systems. The same intellectuals were also attracted to what they perceived to be the personal attributes of the dictators. Given the widely held belief that intellectuals are deeply committed to free inquiry and expression and open societies, it is not easy to grasp why they idealized and misread the nature of dictators and the political systems they represented. Several possible explanations will be proposed. The question will also be raised: are the serious political misjudgements of intellectuals, including their veneration of dictators, and the repressive political systems they represented, compatible with the prevailing conceptions of the nature and defining characteristics of intellectuals?
Location: Encina Hall West, Room 208
Numerous well known Western intellectuals were favorably impressed by various 20th century dictators of different political persuasions including Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro and others. Their positive assessments (short lived, or more enduring) were closely related to the appreciation of the political systems the dictators presided over, as well as the ideals which ostensibly inspired these systems. The same intellectuals were also attracted to what they perceived to be the personal attributes of the dictators. Given the widely held belief that intellectuals are deeply committed to free inquiry and expression and open societies, it is not easy to grasp why they idealized and misread the nature of dictators and the political systems they represented. Several possible explanations will be proposed. The question will also be raised: are the serious political misjudgements of intellectuals, including their veneration of dictators, and the repressive political systems they represented, compatible with the prevailing conceptions of the nature and defining characteristics of intellectuals?