عن المثقف و الثورة

Abstract EN

This essay does not attempt to be a comprehensive sociological or historical treatment of the question of intellectuals and their role in revolutions.

It is, rather, a concept essay dealing with epistemology and knowledge production that is arrived at through a process of critique and the distinction of specific terminology—linguistically, conceptually, and historically.

In so doing, Bishara examines terms such as “the intellectual,” “the intelligentsia,” “the organic intellectual,” and “the public intellectual”.

For the latter, the emphasis is on the public intellectual’s ability to go beyond specializations to engage directly with the public on issues concerning society and the state.

Bishara distinguishes between intellectuals and those who are required to utilize their intellectual capacity; between academics immersed exclusively in their field of expertise and social actors who take an interest in various social affairs without specializing in a specific field.

The author then moves on to mark the distinction between “an intellectual” and the rest of society.

Through this process, and by critiquing alternative conceptualizations, the author elucidates what he considers the main attribute of an intellectual— the capacity to make decisions based on epistemological grounds that lead to value judgments.

Bishara concludes that two types of intellectuals are absent from the Arab revolutions.

The first of these is the “revolutionary intellectual,” who is able to not only maintaina critical distance from the regimes in place and the revolutions,but also critique them.

“Conservative intellectuals,” on the other hand, are capable of explaining the necessity of keeping the old regime, promoting the inherent opportunities for change within it, as well as the wisdom enshrined within the state and its traditions.

For Bishara, the role of the revolutionary intellectual does not end with the outbreak of a revolution, but in fact takes on greater complexity and significance once the need to propose post-revolutionary alternatives arises.