Uncovering the Underrated Phenomenon of Stupidity: From Bonhoeffer, Cipolla to Stiegler

Background

Stupidity, a phenomenon that is often hidden behind the hubbub of information and technological advancement in this modern era, invites us to peer deeper into the complexity of human behavior. Carlo Cipolla, an Italian economic historian, with his satirical take in The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity describes stupidity as a paradoxical challenge that is often overlooked by a society that tends to focus on more visible threats such as crime.

Cipolla’s view reveals that stupidity is not limited to individual mistakes, but rather creeps into social structures collectively, threatening intellectual autonomy and hindering the human ability to think critically. In this context, stupidity is not just a lack of knowledge, but also a mental attitude that refuses to respond rationally to information or recognize the need for urgent action.

In this essay, we will investigate how collective stupidity, from the past to the present, affects social, political and technological dynamics. By tracing the roots of stupidity from the standpoint of philosophical theory to contemporary reality, our aim is to understand how stupidity can reinforce harmful systems and impede progress towards consciousness and intellectual independence.

Underestimated Stupidity and its Relation to Crime:

Italian economic historian Carlo Cipolla in his essay The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity offers a satirical analysis of the phenomenon of human stupidity. According to Cipolla (2021) stupidity has always been underestimated because it is difficult to identify, evenly distributed regardless of background, and often considered an individual rather than collective problem. Many people do not realize the number of stupidity people around them and consider stupidity as insignificant or harmless. Because society tends to focus on threats that seem obvious. Like crime.

A German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (cited in Thomson, 2023; Koblin, 2021) argued in his theory of stupidity:

“We have more to fear from stupid people than evil ones.”

The reason is that neglected stupidity is more destructive and difficult to overcome than crime. stupidity leads to a loss of intellectual autonomy and the inability to think critically or question the information they receive. Evil people know that they are doing wrong, so there is still the possibility of changing their behavior through confrontation such as punishment. However, stupidity people are unaware of their stupidity , and so cannot be reasoned with or changed through rational argument. This makes them easy to manipulate and use by evil people for harmful purposes. Stupidity is even more difficult to overcome when it becomes a mass phenomenon, as evil will take control of their resources and power. This means stupidity can reinforce the evil system itself. Even when evil has disappeared, the destructive system supported by stupidity will remain.

“A fool is one who causes harm to another person or group of people, while gaining no advantage for himself or even harming himself.” -Carlo Cipolla (2021) in The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (3rd law)

The Problem of Collective Stupidity: What is the Real Threat to Collective Stupidity

I t was mentioned earlier that the reason why people tend not to take stupidity as a serious problem is because people are more focused on tangible threats. So, does providing evidence to make the threat more tangible build collective stupidity consciousness?
In a short essay written by Denny Gioia entitled Introduction of Collective Stupidity, Gioia asks a fundamental question:

“Why is it that as a collective we can get stuck in a level of stupidity that causes us to stupidity the serious threats that are clearly happening all around us?” — Giola From Introduction of Collective Stupidity

Gioia explains that collective stupidity often arises due to a lack of evidence deemed sufficient to recognize a problem as an emergency that requires immediate action. As an example, Gioia cited the case of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), where to confirm a definitive diagnosis a brain autopsy was required after the individual suspected of suffering from CTE passed away.

Paradoxically, however, there are also cases where collective stupidity persists despite sufficient evidence that a problem is an emergency that requires immediate action. A clear example is the phenomenon of herd stupidity that emerged during the COVID-19 outbreak, in Indonesia during the “mudik” season as suggested by Situmorang (2021). In this context, rational-emotional behavior therapy (REBT) theory is used to explain that this collective stupidity occurs due to irrational beliefs that are dogmatic, inflexible, and often contradictory to empirical facts. For example, the refusal to recognize the need to control the spread of COVID-19 or to take responsibility for personal or group actions to prevent transmission of the virus.

So although concrete evidence has accompanied the urgency, it is not necessarily effective in building awareness of collective stupidity. So, how to build an effective approach to collective stupidity?

“Every age has its own manifestation of stupidity, as a “language” that belongs to it.” — Antonio Gurreiro From “Our Beloved Stupidity”

Guerreiro’s statement refers to the phenomenon of stupidity that does not only exist within a certain period, but changes and adapts to different social, cultural and historical contexts from one era to the next. As argued by Flaubert and cited by Guerreiro, the stupidity of his time was closely linked to the moral and intellectual chaos manifested in the forms of ‘bourgeois’ culture and mass culture.

So, what about today? Bernard Stiegler, a French philosopher famous for highlighting technological issues, in his work titled The States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in the 21st Century Stiegler points out that stupidity has adopted a modern and sophisticated “language”. This phenomenon of collective stupidity is driven and amplified by rapid technological advances, which while providing easy access to information, also increases the potential for information manipulation and neo-liberal capitalism that has blended into modern society. It has also changed the way modern humans interact with knowledge.

Bernard Stiegler: The States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in 21st Century

Stiegler (2015) describes the modern world as an era of “shock,” where technological developments such as rapid technological change and information dependence on technology, and the dominating economy of capitalism make it difficult for many people to adapt critically, reflectively and creatively, thus exacerbating stupidity and reducing the value of knowledge.
In the domain of technological development, people in a state of “shock” tend to passively accept information without questioning its source or validity, weakening critical thinking. Technology-driven rapid change means that people often do not have the time or space to reflect and understand these changes in depth, weakening the power of reflection. Information dependency supported by digital technology weakens creative power.

In the domain of capitalism, with its focus on capital efficiency and profit, it encourages the formation of a less critical and more consumptive society. The attention economy plays a role by psychologically exploiting and manipulating human attention. Technology and social media companies use algorithms to attract users’ attention with content that triggers strong emotional reactions, causing users to be constantly distracted by notifications and superficial information, this inhibits the ability to focus on deep thinking or critical analysis, while sensational information is valued over meaningful content. Educational institutions that are supposed to educate the younger generation are now more market-oriented, neglecting the formation of critical character and creativity in the younger generation and reducing the value of ‘knowledge’ to ‘mere information’ that is then sold. With this, technology is also used as a political tool to control and manipulate the masses, paving the way for evil political games (polarization and political manipulation) to achieve absolute victory.

This is what happens, referred to by Stiegler as “proletarianization” (adopting Marx’s conception) to describe the process in which individuals lose their critical knowledge and skills due to the dominance of technology and capitalism in everyday life.

“They hound you and harass you with their rude stubbornness, their unjustified arrogance. They prosper, they sign the dotted line, and they will gladly erase all your opinions, emotions, and dignity with a single stroke of the pen. They erode your morals and make you doubt that there is any justice in this vile world. No matter how hard you try, you cannot detect a speck of kinship in them. Stupidity is a promise not kept, a promise of intelligence and confidence that the fools among us betray, traitors to humanity!” — Jean-Francois Marmion in “The Psychology of Stupidity” (page 7)

What if ‘Irrational Beliefs’ is the ‘Language’ of stupidity Over Time?

What if there is a “language” that will always belong to stupidity over time? And that is ‘Irrational Beliefs’.

“Irrational beliefs are often used as an umbrella term that comprises a variety of psychological constructs: from specific cognitive biases to a wider class of epistemologically suspect beliefs (superstitions, paranormal and pseudoscientific beliefs, conspiracy theories etc.) or cognitive styles (analytical versus intuitive thinking), but also unsubstantiated self-related beliefs.” — Žeželj and Lazarević (2019, page 1)

On the other hand, ‘stupidity’ refers to a lack of awareness, understanding, and proper assessment of a situation or information, often leading to irrational or harmful actions. As such, ‘irrational beliefs’ can be considered as one more specific form of stupidity.

Since prehistoric times, humans have developed various myths, legends and religious beliefs that are often based on beliefs that are not supported by solid empirical evidence. Examples include belief in deities, forces of nature, and rituals aimed at controlling or harnessing supernatural forces. And in this day and age, ‘irrational beliefs’ can still be identified, an epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Public Health, used the term to describe the lack of collective awareness and denial of the pandemic, which contributed to the wide spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia (Situmorang, 2021).

So, what if “irrational beliefs” are seen as the oldest phenomenon of stupidity that has survived to the present day, does this illustrate that irrational beliefs have been an integral part of the human experience throughout history?

Source:

Cipolla, C. M. (2021). The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity. (N. N. Taleb, Foreword). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Stiegler, Bernard (2015). States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in the 21st Century. Malden, MA: Polity.

Marmion, J.-F. (Ed.). (2020). The Psychology of Stupidity: Explained by Some of the World’s Smartest People. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 1529053846, 9781529053845.

Situmorang, D. D. B. (2021). ‘Herd stupidity’ as a result of ‘irrational beliefs’: The mental health issues in the COVID-19 outbreak. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 65, 102851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102851

Žeželj, I., & Lazarević, L. B. (2019). Irrational Beliefs. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 15(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v15i1.1903

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10564926231203846

https://sproutsschools.com/bonhoeffers-theory-of-stupidity/

https://bigthink.com/thinking/bonhoeffers-theory-stupidity-evil/#:~:text=Dietrich%20Bonhoeffer%20argues%20that%20stupidity,surrender%20our%20individual%20critical%20faculties.

https://electramagazine.fundacaoedp.pt/en/editions/issue-2/our-beloved-stupidity