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Books
States of Shock by Bernard Stiegler
Peter Benson recovers from States of Shock.
The French bank-robber turned philosopher Bernard Stiegler concluded his 2010 book on What Makes Life Worth Living with these words:
“The only thing that, at bottom, is worth being lived – in this life that must constantly be critiqued in order for it to be, in fact, worth living – is the struggle against stupidity.”
If we are to wage such a struggle effectively we will need to understand the nature of stupidity, its sources and causes, and how to nullify its baleful power. In his new book States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in the 21st Century Stiegler sets out to answer these questions.
As the title suggests, knowledge counteracts stupidity. But knowledge needs to be distinguished from mere information.
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