Today I stumbled upon this blog post about the real meaning of the word "idiot".
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to read it as "thinking of yourself"? Because it seems that initially the meaning of "idiot" could have meant a person, who is preoccupied with his personal affairs, instead of concentrating on more important issues that are significant for others as well.
It also reminded me about Gurdjieff's use of this word, and how according to him everyone is a specific type of idiot. He named 21 types. Here's a blog post about it, for example.
And this is the list of Idiots according to Gurdjieff. Considering what we have learned recently about his cosmology, and also from recent book recommendations, like "Healing Developmental Trauma", it makes me wonder if this list may describe traits of various survival styles. This is probably something pretty obvious, considering the 4th Way concept of the "chief feature", but it seemed interesting to look at it from this different perspective.
I came across idiot being defined, in Samuel Butler’s 1872 satiric novel “Erewhon”, as someone who thinks for himself and it turns out that the Ancient Greeks agreed with Mr. Butler.
The word’s roots lie in idios which means private or one’s own. So Butler is right in saying that an idiot has thoughts of his own. It is, however, a little more complex than a mere translation from Greek.
Idios led to idiotes which meant a person lacking in a professional skill or a private citizen or individual. That’s a pretty common state and not something that means a lack of intelligence but the Greeks weren’t worried about intelligence, they were concerned with democracy.
In Athenian democracy (thanks to Wikipedia for this detail) an idiot was someone concerned only with private, as opposed to public, affairs. This was the opposite of a citizen. They believed idiots were born and citizens were made, through education. Refusing to be a citizen, avoiding politics and debate was seen as dishonourable and selfish. I am inclined to agree.
Over time the idiot’s bad judgement in refusing to engage in democracy changed the word’s meaning to refer to bad judgement in all things and by the time we reach Late Latin, Middle English and Old French an idiot is an uneducated ordinary person. Since then idiot has changed again to be a person who is not capable of education.
So the next you’re accused to idiocy, consider the possibility that you are merely thinking for yourself.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to read it as "thinking of yourself"? Because it seems that initially the meaning of "idiot" could have meant a person, who is preoccupied with his personal affairs, instead of concentrating on more important issues that are significant for others as well.
It also reminded me about Gurdjieff's use of this word, and how according to him everyone is a specific type of idiot. He named 21 types. Here's a blog post about it, for example.
And this is the list of Idiots according to Gurdjieff. Considering what we have learned recently about his cosmology, and also from recent book recommendations, like "Healing Developmental Trauma", it makes me wonder if this list may describe traits of various survival styles. This is probably something pretty obvious, considering the 4th Way concept of the "chief feature", but it seemed interesting to look at it from this different perspective.
The Idiots
1. ordinary
2. super
3. arch
4. hopeless
5. compassionate
6. squirming
7. square
8. round
9. zigzag
10. enlightened
11. doubting
12. swaggering
13. born
14. patented
15. psychopathic
16. polyhedral
In the 'Rue des Colonels Renard' collection science-of-idiotism.htm the order is: 12. Swaggering Idiot; 13. Remorseful Idiot; 14. Born Idiot; 15. Patented Idiot; 16. Idiot of Stinking Hierarchy; 17. [not named]
Higher classes
Idiots 17-21 constituted a spiritual hierarchy, reflecting progressive gradations of objective reason.
Having attained 17 [category is not named], to go on, the individual had to voluntarily descend to 1, that of the ordinary idiot. Some say it happens with 10.
18. the highest development of reason with which a human being could resonate.
19. and 20. the sons of God
21. the reason of God