Who is an intellectual. It is necessary to know

Some people say: "He is a real intellectual!". Does this mean that a person is educated or intelligent, morally stable or a patriot? Let's figure out when this concept arose and what is the meaning of it.

Etymology of the word

"Intelligent" - this word has Latin roots. Literally translated as "knowledgeable, understanding, thinking." In use in Russia it came in the early 19th century. In the cultural strata of society it was originally a synonym for the word "nobility", but later it acquired a different meaning.

In the turbulent period of the change of the epochs at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the advanced and enlightened minds of the Russian Empire propagated: "... always struggle and forever lose", "tranquility is spiritual meanness," "living honestly means fighting and not being afraid of making mistakes." This outlook renewed the notion of the intelligentsia. Its representative, an intellectual, is a brave, resolute and honest man, a patriot and a courageous human rights champion. He is intelligent, fair, dedicated to his work. An intellectual is not a philistine, but an active and useful member of society, his life is not separable from an important for the people cause. The meaning of this concept was an alternative to the word "revolutionary".

Interpretation of this word in the 20th century in Russia and in the West

After the October Revolution of 1917 the country lay in ruins. To restore her, strong, hard hands were needed, so the workers became a privileged class, and the intellectual figures went into the shadows. Moreover, the word "intellectual" began to sound contemptuous. Now calling someone so, they implied that the person is a parasite, sitting on the neck of society, useless for the society of lazy people and a passer-by.

In developed foreign countries, this word also acquired a different meaning, but the vector of its renewal was completely different. In the West, the "intellectual" is a synonym for the word "intellectual". It means people engaged in mental work. Scientists, teachers, doctors, artists and lawyers - intellectuals, regardless of moral values, do not need to be the bearer of ideals.

The wide Russian soul

And what is the echo in the Slavic soul this word finds today? It is associated first and foremost with a well-bred and cultural member of society, a fair, non-talkative, able to improve and be an example for imitation. An intellectual is an active and hardworking person, he is spiritually developed and pure in heart, he is devoid of swagger and arrogance, he values culture and knowledge.

A true intellectual can equally successfully deal with both intellectual activity and physical labor. Important are only moral values, but not the kind of activity. A steel-worker can be a true intellectual in his soul, and an artist is an ordinary boor.