Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life

What does it mean to pursue an intellectual life? What are the preconditions for intellectual pursuit, and is it available to everyone? In this long interview, Zena and Tiger go through some of the most contentious debates in academia and beyond – from whether solitude and suffering are required to live out an intellectual life, to whether liberal arts educations are worthy or effective in educating young people. Zena writes in her book that “if intellectual life is not left to rest in its splendid uselessness, it will never bear its practical fruit.” How should we define the “uselessness“ of an intellectual activity? Zena explains that there are intrinsic values to intellectual pursuit itself, regardless of one indeed becomes a successful academic or uses the knowledge for any practical application or not. A deeper implication of such belief, Zena argues, is that humanists ought to be more confident with the value of their subjects and their teaching. Instead of trying to persuade hum