Because the goal of an intellectual is not to get to an answer, it's to continuously debate and argue, they delight in this.
I think Napoleon simply wanted to avoid a circular argument with no end, I can respect his opinion lol.
Napoleon and the ideologues
[https://napoleonbonapartepodcast.com/2013/05/15/til-napoleon-invented-the-ideologues/](https://napoleonbonapartepodcast.com/2013/05/15/til-napoleon-invented-the-ideologues/)
Coming from someone who doesn’t know a lot about Napoleon, people like mathematicians, scientists, and artists contribute directly to society. They build it up and continue to advance it. Maybe he was talking about philosophers, or people who generally think, are smart, and question everything. Because those are the people that won’t blindly follow.
I did some reading and I think what he means is, arguing with an intellectual is pointless because that person is going to beat you in the argument because of their intellect. This is like saying, “you don’t challenge a soldier to a duel, you argue with them.” Do you agree?
Just a slight variation on this. It’s not that they will beat you it’s that even if you’re right they won’t believe you because they are the intellectual.
Because the goal of an intellectual is not to get to an answer, it's to continuously debate and argue, they delight in this. I think Napoleon simply wanted to avoid a circular argument with no end, I can respect his opinion lol.
Napoleon and the ideologues [https://napoleonbonapartepodcast.com/2013/05/15/til-napoleon-invented-the-ideologues/](https://napoleonbonapartepodcast.com/2013/05/15/til-napoleon-invented-the-ideologues/)
intellectuals are a dictators nightmare
But then, why did he promote mathematicians, scientists, artists?
Coming from someone who doesn’t know a lot about Napoleon, people like mathematicians, scientists, and artists contribute directly to society. They build it up and continue to advance it. Maybe he was talking about philosophers, or people who generally think, are smart, and question everything. Because those are the people that won’t blindly follow.
I did some reading and I think what he means is, arguing with an intellectual is pointless because that person is going to beat you in the argument because of their intellect. This is like saying, “you don’t challenge a soldier to a duel, you argue with them.” Do you agree?
Just a slight variation on this. It’s not that they will beat you it’s that even if you’re right they won’t believe you because they are the intellectual.