Stupidity as a historical concept

The idea of stupidity has intrigued and troubled thinkers and writers for centuries. It includes a wide range of behaviors, from childish silliness to the gluttony of Cambrai, and includes fictional characters like Ubu Roi, Monsieur Jourdain, and Mr. Bean. The term also describes people like the village idiot or the simpleton, highlighting the many forms stupidity can take.

Audiard and the era of emptiness

In La Grande Sauterelle (1967), Michel Audiard described stupidity as representing what sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky later called "the era of emptiness." Audiard's character notes, "How stupid you can be," suggesting that stupidity is more than a lack of intelligence—it is a state of being that can be both amusing and troubling.

Stupidity's paradoxical appeal

Stupidity has certain virtues, such as boosting our ego, as we believe we are above it. But this affection fades when stupidity becomes too loud or widespread. Gustave Flaubert, for instance, feared "the infinite stupidity of the masses," warning about the rise of a class of fools that could unite the poor and the bourgeois, where the least ignorant would want "to have his say."

Musil on stupidity as a societal disease

In 1937, as Europe neared war, Robert Musil discussed stupidity in a Vienna conference, calling it the disease of his time. He argued that the danger was not ignorance or error, but the calm certainty of being right with others. This form of stupidity, consensual and confident, could lead to brutality, no longer harmless.

Modern stupidity and technology

Today, there is a growing concern that a new stage of stupidity has been reached. While our brains remain the same, our technological environment and relationship with reason have changed. Out of impatience or laziness, people increasingly delegate tasks like summarizing, writing, and reasoning to machines. These machines also amplify our moods in echo chambers.

Stupidity's reach and antidotes

In Flaubert’s time, a foolish idea needed a newspaper to gain an audience. Now, a few seconds are enough for a fool with followers to become an influencer, and for a counter-truth to spread globally. To resist this, one must recognize that stupidity, like La Fontaine’s fables, is a mirror in which everyone can see themselves. Who hasn’t done, said, or written something foolish?

Cultivating awareness and silence

Known antidotes include reading, staying informed, fostering curiosity, self-derision, and self-correction. It’s important to accept that everyone has their share of idiocy. Moreover, the modern foolish mind is not empty but filled with ready-made images and words. More than our ancestors, we have "full the skull," making it harder for thought to emerge.

Deleuze's call for silence

Philosopher Gilles Deleuze suggests a paradoxical solution: to be silent. He argues that the challenge is not to encourage people to speak, but to give them moments of solitude and silence from which they can finally have something meaningful to say.