“Francis, Francis, go and repair My church which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.”
Two years ago I would be content if I had a fireplace to sit by and a well-lit desk to write at for my entire life. Whenever I thought about my future beyond college, it lay in the mahogany shelves that held books with crippled parchment pages. Rather, it was a future that regurgitated the romanticized image of a secluded scholar, an image of the past, endlessly trapping me in the counter-current of time.
Perhaps academia was going to be my destination. I will devote my life to the most sublime mission of all humankind: unveiling the mysteries of the universe. I shall fix my eyes on the “highest spheres that flow around us”, unwavering in my march towards the purest, untainted ideals of all time. Once it was certain that I was going to live and die as a scholar——
An obedient slave to the Tour d’Ivoire.
Erecting the Tower
We only start to connect with the world around us when we are shocked by its deviance from our own perception of utopia.
We have never ceased to strive for the vision, or even realization, of a utopia. Yet by the interplay of numerous external factors and the sheer nature of our differentiated minds, this goal appears to be and perhaps is already widely accepted to be unattainable. The chasm between people grew; though the veil of solidarity persists, it is now achieved by increasingly abstract notions than sympathy for one’s actual circumstance. It’s possible that your heart does not throb for the loss of a distant family member but leap at resonance with someone worshiping the same god, driven by the fervor in your heart which has its reflection perceived through another.
[As time progressed, reality starts to expand and divide itself into increasing layers. Where once in the past two individuals may see the same tree and rivers, now they see objects of entirely different natures. An environmentalist may see them as victims of human activity, where a businessperson may already be starting to plan their exploitation. Again, this is a particularly exaggerated example, but the specialization of subjects is beginning to peel the world apart, where we are gradually losing mobility as spectators. Here ends this tangent.]
As a compromise, the concept of an idealized society of intellectuals spontaneously emerged frequently across history. It takes many forms including Plato’s symposium, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, etc. It often starts as a religious or academic group sharing a common set of ideals, with its members isolated from outsiders. Einstein speaks of this concept: “In the temple of science are many mansions, and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them thither.”
Naturally, barriers appear between people with different opinions, backgrounds, and interests, as detailed in previous paragraphs. Yet the altitude of the ivory towers is often determined by the social status of those who hold it, rather than the validity of the collective ideal. This is further justified by the long tradition of historical elitism that highlights the deeds of those whose power is enough to secure their legacies: rulers, and the scholars/artists whose works are sanctioned by them. The ivory tower, by definition, tends to detach from those who disagree with it yet lacks power, in its vision and acts.
Such a place continues to project itself onto institutes in our modern world. Pictured as a place of intellectual sparks, conversation, the catalyst of innovation and moral goodness, it is expected that power and intervention are to their bare minimum and do not interfere with what truly matters. The group evolves from a small fraternity of similar ideals to a symbol of social influence, dominating the imagination of privileged students whose minds are free from the toils of earning a living.
Would we still want our minds and values to be led by people who are increasingly caught up in their tunnel vision of their “faultless scientific truths”?
Necessity/Inevitability of the Tower
The tower tends to sustain itself just like all other ancient institutions. Especially for certain fields of study, it will be a common or even an inevitable choice to remain in academia as a scholar. This mechanism allows people to make a living out of long-term goals in research & development and maintains a fresh supply of professionals in the field. Simple evaluation systems are also established: how many essays you have published and how prestigious the journals are becoming your indicators of a qualified scientist. Those with power have gained it through this “cursus honorum”: PhD, post-PhD, professor, tenure. We always like quantifiable things, so that we can quickly allocate limited resources. Like always we tend to fall towards an “optimum”, a non-stop churning state of inertia.
The tower must be placed in an environment endorsing intellectualism for it to sustain, or at least hold its previous prestige. Neglect will simply strike the tower down to chaos, not to mention criticism and even peaceful rumination. The abuse of monopoly power, sky-high prices of database access, the increasing competition and pursuit of elite universities just so one may conduct science in peace, not needing to be bothered by budgets that fluctuate with the external economy. There is no isolated tower for science to exist in a vacuum.
Though the tower is not without its merits, which brought its construction in the first place. People on the same page regarding background knowledge and personal theories can drastically improve the quality of discussion and collaboration. Yet it is precisely because of this assumption for everyone to be on the same page does the tower become a barrier and not a sanctuary. Without effective communicators, those inside the tower would only become increasingly frustrated at the “shortsighted” impatience of the public, beckoning for groundbreaking discoveries to justify their “impractical” use of social resources.
Those outside the tower may also stir up a wave of anti-intellectualism and conspiracy theories to fill in the gap of information. It is a justified urge, to keep up with the frontiers of science, whether for entrepreneurial or educational motivation. Buzzwords like “Quantum entanglement” permeate the high walls through headings that only flash by, and blend into the language of social media and daily life. Everyone deserves to know—— that they are part of something greater than themselves, that they too may bask in the glory of humankind even as they scurry through the stinking streets of the metropolis, forcing another smile to their corrupted superiors. It does feel nice to end everything with “for the truth of science” or “rationality”, wouldn’t you agree?
It is a luxury to hold onto intellectual curiosity and at the same time be able to indulge it, letting it lead you to wherever you feel like. Being a road leading to the ivory tower, it may also be the way out.
Oblivious, I scorned those who refused to exercise their autonomy, their enthusiasm that I believed to be their trusty oar while navigating the tides of life. Once I embraced fervent motivation as a virtue; now I learned to acknowledge it as a privilege. The freedom to explore interests, able to be relived from the pressure of employment, and the necessary resources to sustain a spark of curiosity- prerequisites that I once took for granted. Are all our moral ideals in its reality a privilege that trace back to self-appraisal, as we cherry-pick traits to assimilate into ourselves?
Similarly, I have come to admire and respect those who have learned to shed the arrogance of elitism in pursuing knowledge while preserving the inspiration in their hearts. I also became increasingly aware of how volatile my previous mental framework was, as it sought to expel any opinionated voice to preserve its self-righteousness. The things I was taught to scorn in science I reclaimed gradually as I tread the ruins of ancient civilizations on poetic feet—— and to inspect my godless heart once again.
I wonder how long it would take for me to overthrow my values yet again, and again, tirelessly shedding my previous beliefs like dead skin.
Thus I must pause and ruminate ——only then may I step into the bounds of the new world, dauntless.
Featured Image: Saint Francis of Assisi in Prayer, by Allori Christofano.
Neutrino's World 