Divergent and Philosophy by Courtland Lewis

Author:Courtland Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780812699111
Publisher: Open Court
Published: 2015-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

11

Should We Execute the Erudite?

NICOLAS MICHAUD AND JESSICA WATKINS

Knowledge . . . It Must Not Be Wielded as a Weapon.

—Erudite Manifesto

Let’s be honest: Veronica Roth, the author of Divergent, doesn’t seem to think too highly of the Erudite.

Divergent tells us that we have to be very careful whom we trust. We have to be particularly careful of smart people who hoard knowledge for themselves. Really, in some ways, it isn’t all that surprising that the Erudite are portrayed as so selfish, vicious, and dangerous. When you look around our own society, right now, we’re pretty mistrustful of the well-educated. Think about how dangerous it is for a politician to come across as “too smart.” It’s important that they not seem separated from the average person.

We’re becoming so mistrustful of education and educators that we are getting rid of tenure, putting teachers under the microscope, and demanding that they prove they meet the “right” standards—standards that focus more on basic-level skill-building than on deep and critical thinking. Why? Because we don’t trust them! So it’s no surprise that, in Roth’s world, the Erudite are not allowed to rule, because they can’t be trusted to rule. Smart people may just be too dangerous.

Now that isn’t to say that the members of the other factions aren’t smart. Tris is obviously smart, as is just about everyone else in the Dauntless faction; the difference is that the Erudite have chosen to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. We see that the knowledge they gain goes straight to their heads, and it doesn’t take long for them to realize two things: 1. they have a lot of knowledge about how the city should be run; and 2. they have the ability to force others to do what they want. Pretty quickly, it’s the Erudite leader, Jeanine Matthews, who decides that it’s time for a change because she knows she can run the city better than Abnegation, and she knows she can force others to do what she wants!

So, to keep society safe, it may not be enough just to keep the Erudite away from political power; we might need to eliminate them entirely.

How Dangerous Is Knowledge?

Why did you fight with your enemy?

—Amity Manifesto

Well, the first problem is kind of personal to us. After all, pretty much everyone who is reading and writing this book would choose the Erudite faction. We’re philosophers, after all. What is philosophy, other than the pursuit of knowledge? Surely, we can be trusted . . . We are nice people! You should trust us . . .

Alright, maybe philosophers are a little serious, but are we as dangerous as Roth seems to think? Really, the question is, “Is knowledge dangerous?” In other words, is knowledge really a destructive force, so powerful and so dangerous that it corrupts the Erudite and endangers everyone?

We’ve all heard that “knowledge is power.” And—to be honest—that statement is a bit annoying and cliché. Obviously, knowledge isn’t the same thing as power. Really, it makes more sense to say, “Knowledge is a kind of power.

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