Bonhoeffer: Evil and Stupidity скачать в хорошем качестве

Bonhoeffer: Evil and Stupidity

It said that debating an idiot is like playing #chess with a pigeon. They'll knock over the pieces, they'll crap on the board, and they'll fly back to their flock and claim victory. It's funny and insightful, but according to the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it's also deeply worrying. Because for #Bonhoeffer stupidity is far more concerning than evil. There are evil people in life. There are murderers, cheaters, and liars. But they are not the greatest threat. Because once something is known to be evil, the good of the world can rally to defend and fight against it. When we know somebody is bad, we know how to take a stand. And so, as Bonhoeffer put it, ‘evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion.’ Stupidity, though, is a different problem, and we cannot so easily fight it for two reasons. The first is that we are much more tolerant of it as a society. We do not take stupidity that seriously. We do not attack somebody for not knowing a thing. The second reason is that the stupid person is a slippery one. Like a pigeon playing chess, they are not open to either #reason or debate. And so, for Bonhoeffer, stupidity is far more dangerous because it is a weapon that evil people can often use. Because evil people find it hard to take power themselves, they will need stupid people to do their work for them. A stupid person can be guided, steered and manipulated to do any number of things. And history teaches us that #stupidity does not mean you cannot be powerful. #Evil is a puppet master, and it loves nothing so much as a powerful idiot. #philosophy #theologian #intelligence