Blaise Pascal was one of the earliest fighters in the war between the two enlightenment views. His Provincial Lettres pamphlets, written anonymously, succeeded posthumously in undermining the influence of the French Jesuits over Louis XIV.
Yes, the two forces are still battling, and the know-it-alls' arrogance is still their Achilles heel. I've a mountain of material on how expertism, employed then to mask real intentions, has been mimicked by our Progs. They select experts, build a consensus, and label it as science rather than letting ALL underlying data be examined by all instead of censoring all data that disproves the hypothetical "crisis" that the ruling class depends upon to expand its power.
Interesting observations. Thanks. The arrogance of the clerisy has been a consistent theme since the very beginning of the Enlightenment, as your reference to Pascal reminds us.
Blaise Pascal was one of the earliest fighters in the war between the two enlightenment views. His Provincial Lettres pamphlets, written anonymously, succeeded posthumously in undermining the influence of the French Jesuits over Louis XIV.
Yes, the two forces are still battling, and the know-it-alls' arrogance is still their Achilles heel. I've a mountain of material on how expertism, employed then to mask real intentions, has been mimicked by our Progs. They select experts, build a consensus, and label it as science rather than letting ALL underlying data be examined by all instead of censoring all data that disproves the hypothetical "crisis" that the ruling class depends upon to expand its power.
Interesting observations. Thanks. The arrogance of the clerisy has been a consistent theme since the very beginning of the Enlightenment, as your reference to Pascal reminds us.
Glenn Reynold's just provided more on the clerisy. Expertism in decline.
https://instapundit.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-party-pal-contd