Intellectual

An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, or speculate on a variety of different ideas.

The clerisy and the intelligentsia

Coleridge speculated early in the nineteenth century on the concept of the clerisy, a class rather than a type of individual, and a secular equivalent of the (Anglican) clergy, with a duty of upholding (national) culture. The idea of the intelligentsia, in comparison, dates from roughly the same time, and is based more concretely on the status class of 'mental' or white-collar workers.

Related Topics:
Coleridge - Nineteenth century - Anglican - Clergy - Culture - Intelligentsia - Status class - White-collar

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