What's a Public Intellectual Anyway?

Not everyone is a public intellectual nor does everyone want to be. As Stephen Mack wrote in his article “The “Decline” of Public Intellectuals?” public intellectuals are “A special class of academics and philosophically oriented writers who go outside their own discipline to comment on social and political issues”. Mack questions whether there is a decline of public intellectuals, but I beg to differ.

So who holds the crown as the number one intellectual? Well, everyone who is involved in public intellect has their own opinion but an interesting article on Noam Chomsky praises this seventy something man for his outspoken views on foreign policy. This Guardian Unlimited article has named Chomsky as the world top public intellectual. The New York Times has called him “arguably the most important intellectual alive” (Hypocrisy article). Not only has he been praised by one of the most distinguished and popular newspaper in the United States but the English daily The Guardian declared “Chomsky ranks with Marx, Shakespeare, and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the humanities—and is the only writer among them still alive” (Hypocrisy article). Being compared to the Bible and Shakespeare is pretty impressive. So who is this man and what has he done in order to be titled the world’s top public intellectual?

Noam Chomsky was born in 1978 in Pennsylvania to a mother whose family descended from Belarus and his father was born in Ukraine. After graduating high school, Chomsky attended the University of Pennsylvania majoring in philosophy and linguistics. Chomsky followed his undergraduate degree with a Ph.D in linguistics from the same university. Over the course of sixty years Chomsky has written 9 books many who have spent weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List, several book excerpts, and over one hundred articles ranging from the cold war to writing about intellectuals, you can see all of his articles here. Find and read one that interests you and see what you think.

With all of this praise, I must underscore the fact that like any outspoken individual all over the world that Noam Chomsky has harsh critics, specifically this article. Everyone believes that they have their own opinion and that this opinion is unique. Even though I am highlighting important aspects in the work of Noam Chomsky, considering myself outspoken I found myself agreeing with one of Chomsky’s critics on a very important issue facing our country today, the war on terrorism. Chomsky believes that the lives lost could not be compared to the lives that have been lost due to Third World conflicts that is related to United States foreign policy. Eh, I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. Even though I do not agree with one of Chomsky’s statements, I would find it almost impossible to agree with everything that a public intellectual had to say. Considered a left wing politician opens up the flood gates of criticism from opposing viewpoints, but who doesn’t criticize?

Therefore, being called the top public intellectual in the whole world is an honor. Mack believes that

"Our notions of the public intellectual need to focus less on who or what a
public intellectual is—and by extension, the qualifications for getting and
keeping the title. Instead, we need to be more concerned with the work
public intellectuals must do, irrespective of who happens to be doing it”
(Stephen Mack).

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement; the work is more important than the writer himself/herself. Since Chomsky continues to publish his thoughts in an open air market, this leads to massive criticism from religious leaders, politicians, parents, and almost anyone that you could imagine. With public intellectuals such as Noam Chomsky, Umberto Eco, Richard Dawkins, and Vaclav Havel (Chomsky’s runner up in the nomination) to name a few will continue the public intellectual torch. Stephen Mack writes in his article “arguing that independent public intellectuals are a dying breed”; I say that the world of public intellectuals are here to stay and with that comes a flow of criticism to accompany it. Mack states that the public intellectual job is “to keep the pot boiling”; not only does Noam Chomsky do this but up and coming intellectuals will do the same. As long as poignant events are occurring all over the world and people have an opinion public intellectuals will be in the shadows fighting to get their point across and fuel the fire.

As I rant and rave about the awards, accomplishments and the life of Noam Chomsky, what I really want to what Stephen Mack thinks of Mr. Chomsky.

Picture of Noam Chomsky found here.