How Did Milose's Theory of Intellectuals Explain American Intellectuals?

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I think there's a great deal of conformity in our culture as well. We academics, some of us have tenure. Like how does the calculus operate? One which is for a steam, one which is to get approval from one's peers. That can be as powerful as the fear of losing a job. You get that esteem by innovating or by deviating from established opinion. So if you're a musician, you're expected to do something at least a bit different. And why is academia, why does it have more conformist standards for acceptance?

As a little girl, Cynthia Haven loved reading classic works of literature. At sixteen, she began her career as a reporter. And years later, those two interests converged as they led her to interview and write books about three writers and thinkers whom she also came to call mentors: René Girard, Czeslaw Milosz, and Joseph Brodsky.

Cynthia joined Tyler to discuss what she’s gleaned from each of the three, including what traits they have in common, why her biography of Girard had to come from outside academia, Milosz’s reaction to the Berkley Free Speech Movement, Girard’s greatest talent—and flaw—as a thinker, whether Brodsky will fall down the memory hole, why he was so terrible on Ukraine, why Cynthia’s early career was much like The Devil Wears Prada, the failings of Twitter, and more.

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Recorded May 18th, 2022 Other ways to connect

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