Misology

Misology ^{[note 1]} is defined as the hatred of reasoning; the revulsion or distrust of logical debate, argumentation or the Socratic elenchus. As such, it can also be used to mean anti-intellectualism in general.

In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates defines misology by comparing it with misanthropy. In the text, Phaedo of Elis is recalling the death of Socrates, and the hours preceding it, to Echecrates; Phaedo has just recounted how Socrates had given an account of why the soul must exist after death when both Simmias and Cebes, who are debating with Socrates, presented excellent objections. Phaedo breaks from his story and says:

When we heard what they [Simmias and Cebes] said we were all depressed, as we told each other afterwards. We had been quite convinced by the previous argument [Socrates's argument], and they seemed to confuse us again, and to drive us to doubt not only what had already been said but also what was going to be said, lest we be worthless as critics or the subject itself [the fate of the soul] admitted of no certainty.

—Plato, Phaedo, 88c ^[5]

Phaedo then tells Echecrates that before replying to Simmias and Cebes' argument Socrates, having no doubt seen his fellow debater's disquiet, which Phaedo himself evidenced above, said:

...but first there is a certain experience we must be careful to avoid...That we must not become misologues, as people become misanthropes. There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse. Misology and misanthropy arise in the same way. Misanthropy comes when a man without knowledge or skill has placed great trust in someone and believes him to be altogether truthful, sound and trustworthy; then, a short time afterwards he finds him to be wicked and unreliable, and then this happens in another case; when one has frequently had that experience, especially with those whom one believed to be one's closest friends, then, in the end, after many blows, one comes to hate all men and to believe that no one is sound in any way at all...This is a shameful state of affairs...and obviously due to an attempt to have human relations without any skill in human affairs.

—Plato, Phaedo, 89d–89e ^[5]

Plato has his character, Socrates, warn the reader that, just as one should not hate his fellow man because they themselves were poor in judging character, they should not hate argumentation and reason — partake in "misology" — just because they may not be skilled enough to discern the flaws and strengths of an argument:

It would be pitiable, Phaedo, he [Socrates] said, when there is a true and reliable argument and one that can be understood, if a man who has dealt with such arguments as appear at one time true, at another time untrue, should not blame himself or his own lack of skill but, because of his distress, in the end gladly shift the blame away from himself to the arguments, and spend the rest of his life hating and reviling reasonable discussion and so be deprived of truth and knowledge of reality...This then is the first thing we should guard against, he [Socrates] said. We should not allow into our minds the conviction that argumentation has nothing sound about it; much rather we should believe that it is we who are not yet sound and that we must take courage and be eager to attain soundness...

—Plato, Phaedo, 90c–90e ^[5]

The word itself, misology, is first attested for in 1833,^[6] and was used in Benjamin Jowett's famous translation of Plato's Dialogues: "as there are misanthropists or haters of men, there are also misologists or haters of ideas."^[7]

Apart from a Platonic source, Kant, in Fundamental Principles of Moral Philosophy (Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten), which was published in 1785, wrote: "Misologie, d. i. [der ist] haß der vernunft,"^[8][9] translated by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott in 1895, straightforwardly, as: "misology, that is, hatred of reason."^[10][11]

Notes

1. ^ The word is derived from the Ancient Greek μισολογία^[1] "hatred of argument"^[2] from μῖσος, misos, "hatred",^[3] λόγος, logos, "reason",^[4] and the suffix -ία, -ia.

References

1. ^ Harokopos, Aristeidis (2011-01-07). "Φαίδων" (in Attic Greek). Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/34874/pg34874.html. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
2. ^ "Greek Word Study Tool: misologia". Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=misologi%2Fa+&la=greek. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
3. ^ "Greek Word Study Tool: misos". Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=misos&la=greek. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
4. ^ "Greek Word Study Tool: logos". Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=logos&la=greek. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} G.M.A. Grube (1997). Cooper, John M. ed. Plato: Complete Woks. Indianapolis, Indiana, US: Hackett. ISBN 9780872203495. 
6. ^ "Merriam-Webster: Misology" (HTML). Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misology. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
7. ^ Sue Asscher and David Widger (2008-10-29). "Phaedo". Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1658/1658-h/1658-h.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
8. ^ "Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten (1906)". Internet Archive. 2007-11-16. p. 13. OCLC 10629256. http://www.archive.org/details/grundlegungzurm02kantgoog. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
9. ^ "Immanuel Kant's Grundlegung zur metaphysik der sitten (1870)". Internet Archive. 2009-01-15. p. 13. http://www.archive.org/details/immanuelkantsgru00kant. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
10. ^ Matthew Stapleton (2005-11-05). "Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals". Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5682/pg5682.html. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
11. ^ "Fundamental principles of the Metaphysics of ethics (1895)". Internet Archive. 2006-12-15. p. 13. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029021546. Retrieved 2011-11-06.