Something that I found extremely interesting in Paul Hollander’s Political Pilgrims was towards the end when he was discussing the idea of “self-discovery.” I thought this was extremely interesting because he called it “an ego-enhancing activity.” This is an extremely harsh take, especially when considering the fact that most people do have to go on the journey of self-discovery. I was confused by what Hollander was trying to claim. Is he saying that people who are not intellectuals, those who have trouble finding their interests or talents, will be on an endless journey for self-discovery? He states, “Travel is especially irresistible to those – and their numbers may be increasing – who seek instant solutions to personal or social problems.” This is confusing to me, because I believe that intellectuals can also be on this conquest for self-discovery. It seems to me that even though intellectuals have one calling, one line of knowledge that they devote their life to, they may still not have total self-discovery. Intellectuals may be constantly searching for self-discovery, if they have not found the truth that they are looking for. Similarly, if an intellectual cannot find the right company to work for, they will not be able to express their knowledge in a way that is important enough for them. If intellectuals’ knowledge is not verified by others or valid, they may be searching constantly for power or a means of approval. This seems very similar to me to the “self-discovery” that Hollander is discussing here.
I also found it interesting when Hollander was talking about how intellectuals had changes in their attitudes. The growth of individualistic expectations and their unwillingness to, “accept scarcity or deprivations,” led to a lot of criticism. Hollander talks about how because of the greater accessibility of higher education, it led to a large influx of intellectuals or people believing they could become an intellectual easier. It makes me wonder about how intellectuals took this criticism, and if they even cared. With my experience with intellectuals, I feel that usually they do not care about criticism at all, due to the fact that they believe they are so much better than everyone else. Most intellects feel that their field of study is also the best, and it is typical to see there be slight conflict between certain fields of study.