Lars Fr. H. Svendsen - Selected Title Author

What inspired you to write this book?

I have of course been guilty of much of my own stupidity and idiocy, but the large number of bragging, stupid idiots on social media were certainly an inspiration. On a personal level, it was also connected to how a close friend and I became increasingly estranged as he became gradually more entangled in the bizarre world of conspiracy theories. If we lose sight of a common reality, we lose the grounds for meaningful dialogue. Reason brings us together, and unreason does the opposite. So there is a serious basis for the book. Having said that, I should add that human stupidity and idiocy as a theme elicits a lot of humour. I laughed a lot while writing the book, and I hope the reader will laugh at it themselves.

Who is this book for?

The book is for anyone who wants to be reflectively present in the world, in their lives, and in the lives of other people. Philosophy is both a limited subject and something universal, and my entire career as an author is devoted to trying to show how this subject addresses questions that are important to us all. Stupidity and idiocy are common human phenomena. The point of the book is not to highlight other people’s idiocy, but to make us aware of our own. That is why it begins with: “I am stupid. So are you. I am also an idiot. So are you. And every once in a while we are also stupid idiots.” We are all included in this bad company. Traits like arrogance, narrow-mindedness, stubbornness, imperviousness to arguments and superficiality make it far less likely that you will arrive at sensible opinions. If you want to be a relatively smart person, they are qualities you should actively seek to identify in yourself and fight.

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See full presentation of the book here

Read more about the author here

See all NORLA’s Selected Titles for the autumn 2024 here