I'd like to make another point: that universities should get over their market-based assumption that would-be intellectuals ought to test out their ideas in "the market place".
One could end the market-based delusion just by engaging with empirical evidence. Ideas that have been imposed and reinforced through tradition, deprivation, or the cultivation of fancy are those that sell today. There is no particular magic to this. There's also no particular "discerning power of the public" that anyone can cater to. If a book or an idea is pushed, people will buy it: If not, people will leave it alone.
Here are some of the top-selling books that the public has noted worthy of purchasing:
The Da Vinci Code
With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history. [Amazon.com Review]
The Secret
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible. [Amazon]
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans. [Amazon]
Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. [ Amazon]
***
As we can see, people are hungry for religious mystification, new age mystification, the mystification of self-indulgent femininity and the mystification of sex via the mechanics of sado-masochism.
Also note: If I'm the one "just being cynical" here, how does one explain away the evidence that the public wants to feed on shit? Christianity, femininity, self-indulgent consumerism and dominance and submission have been trained into the masses over eons. Consequently, what has been instilled also informs their tastes.
Should academics then turn to the general public to approve of their skills or to sign off on whether their ideas have any market-place validity? What is the nature of the mystical affirmation that such academics would be seeking from the public?
The Da Vinci Code
With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history. [Amazon.com Review]
The Secret
Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible. [Amazon]
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans. [Amazon]
Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy
When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. [ Amazon]
***
As we can see, people are hungry for religious mystification, new age mystification, the mystification of self-indulgent femininity and the mystification of sex via the mechanics of sado-masochism.
Also note: If I'm the one "just being cynical" here, how does one explain away the evidence that the public wants to feed on shit? Christianity, femininity, self-indulgent consumerism and dominance and submission have been trained into the masses over eons. Consequently, what has been instilled also informs their tastes.
Should academics then turn to the general public to approve of their skills or to sign off on whether their ideas have any market-place validity? What is the nature of the mystical affirmation that such academics would be seeking from the public?
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