“After Dinner Conversation” recently shared this on Substack. I don’t know where the quote originally came from, but it captures something of the melancholy associated with the intellectual life. The vocation of an intellectual can be deeply isolating, but not because there aren’t enough people around eager for deep talks. A true intellectual longs for others who share a tolerance for complexity, who are deeply distrustful of ideologically-driven viewpoints; people who want to understand both sides of an issue even if it’s unsettling, people who have the patience to sit with confusion long enough to really understand whatever answers eventually emerge – to get beyond the headlines, vibes, and emotion-driven talking points.
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