On Morality and Intelligence
Today, we started our Gateway to the Great Books study by opening with “The Moral Obligation To Be Intelligent, by John Erskine. As we read this chapter of Vol 10 we must ask ourselves, what part does intelligence on our morality in the 21st century have? Erskine argues that stupidity is the first cousin to moral conduct and that cleverness is the first step into mischief. He believed that downplaying the importance of intelligence would not only erode our moral standards but that it is a primarily Anglo-Saxton ideology. He goes on to use several English literature authors to argue his point. He states that these authors show us a well-
meaning blunderer who in the last chapter temporarily gets rescued by the grace of God from their mess. I don’t believe he is wrong in his interpretation of such novels. We tend to admire such people as shown us in these novels, and yet this admiration without discrimination leads to a lack of intelligence among virtues. And whether these are done intentionally or not, is not the concern, for all (wo)men, are both good and evil. Good and morally upright men will make mistakes of character and morality, while those of evil morality will do good at times. Thus we can not absolve ourselves from the pursuit of intelligence for the sake of our moral obligations. We must be at ease with both intelligence and character. We must demand of ourselves an intelligent mind that can reason and conclude as well as a heart of patience and humility. It is through the exercise of our intelligence that our fears will be relieved and our opportunity for greatness will flourish. What if schools were to teach so that students would rise to the challenge of such an education? And what if adults continued this? Simply put, only then will we be able to talk with one another. So, what do you think of intelligence and its importance in society today?
