The Cynical Academy

University should, by definition, be a place of learning. It should be a place where academic freedom is protected, where students are able to ask questions freely, to wonder, to come up with arguments for their positions and reach some types of cogent conclusions. But, university is not that place (of course, I mean most universities are not like that).

These days, universities are places of cynicism and nihilism. The possibility of losing one’s soul is at the horizon. Of course, it is possible to lose one’s soul inside or outside the academy if one is not careful. You face an intellectual and spiritual battle if you are outnumbered, if you are the only person that cares about the truth, and the rest of the population (or at least, the majority) is getting their “nourishment” from a daily dose of cynicism.

If you are concerned with the order of things, you also want naturally for intellectualism or intelligence to go hand in hand with goodness. It seems only normal that if someone is smart, they are also good. But this is not the case. Many intelligent people lack morality, the wisdom to know right from wrong, and any compulsion or need to be charitable. Their ontological structure was stunted in its growth that turns towards goodness and somehow, they lack charity.

This lack of charity is especially seen in the academics. Sure, once in a blue moon, you do meet professors who are actually also genuinely good human beings, and that fact makes you joyful. But I can’t pretend that I am not one bit disappointed when that does not occur.

The academy, as a whole, is a cold place, an island unto itself, devoid of meaning. It is quite ironic really. The academics pontificate about the “meaning,” and yet they have forgotten or never really knew the meaning of meaning.

Josef Pieper wrote that learning begins in wonder, follows by a creative act (or gaining the knowledge), and finally ends in love. This is true especially of the nature of philosophy. These days, feminism and social theory pass as a philosophical act. Isn’t it time to stop listening to joyless academics? I suppose in that case, the answer would be, don’t attend university because wisdom you will not find behind those frigid walls. But on some level, I feel the need to speak out. Perhaps it’s time to stop giving the “academicians” who seem to be deceived about everything, the credence.

Truth should always be our objective. And the constant pursuit of truth (the universal) will reveal the social realities and problems we face (the particular). It is a philosophical mistake to worship the social conditions and let that be our foundation in the exploration of the intellect.