[PW] Isaiah Berlin Quote

[Bye, Dan J]

I am reminded of A.N. Whitehead's remark:

"It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. 
This statement is almost a tautology. For the energy of operation of a proposition
in an occasion of experience is its interest, and its importance. But of course a true
proposition is more apt to be interesting than a false one."
('Adventures of Ideas'. Macmillan, 1933, p.313)

Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org 
> [mailto:project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On 
> Behalf Of Bill Walker
> Sent: 17 August 2007 19:22
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: Re: [PW] Isaiah Berlin Quote
> 
> Shapiro, Fred wrote:
> > I have been asked about an Isaiah Berlin quote to the 
> effect that academics care more whether ideas are interesting 
> than whether they are true.  Can anyone help point me to more 
> detail about Isaiah Berlin saying this?
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> > _______________________________________________
> > Project Wombat
> > list at project-wombat.org
> > http://www.project-wombat.org/
> >   
> Fred,
> 
> In a piece entitled "The State of Europe: Christmas Eve, 
> 1989" that appeared in Granta, 30(March 1, 1990),  Beard 
> wrote "Intellectuals are persons who, as someone said, simply 
> want ideas to be as interesting as possible."  So it sounds 
> from that as if he were paraphrasing someone else too.
> 
> -- 
> Bill Walker
> Librarian
> The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
> Blithewood
> Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000
> 
> 845 758-7729
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Project Wombat
> list at project-wombat.org
> http://www.project-wombat.org/
>