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The House of Intellect: How Intellect, the Prime Force in Western Civilization, is Being Destroyed by Our Culture in the Name of Art, Science and Philanthropy Hardcover – 1959

by
Jacques Barzun (Author)
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Jacques Barzun (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 13 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 276 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (1959)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1199363324
  • ISBN-13: 978-1199363329
  • ASIN: B000NSOSWA
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsBuy two of this classic!
By Rafe Champion on March 1, 2002
Format: Paperback
This is a book that should be bought two at a time (one to lend to friends). Serious students should return to it every few years along with George Orwell's essay on politics and the English language and C Wright Mills' appendix on intellectual craftsmanship in "The Sociological Imagination".

Barzun approached his special field of cultural history in a refreshingly irreverent manner. "You may like to think of culture - I often do - as an enormous pumpkin, hard to penetrate, full of uncharted hollows and recesses for cultural critics to get lost in, and stuffed with seeds of uncertain contents and destiny."
Early in his career he produced a connected series of books, starting with 'The French Race" (1932) and 'Race: A Study in Superstition" (1937 and 1965), moving on to "Darwin, Marx, Wagner" (1941) and "Romanticism and the Modern Ego" (1943). The major themes that connect these studies are (a) the appeal to race, class or nation to supply a new motive power for social change and (b) the an attempt to inject new life into the idols of Progress and Fatalism.
A subsequent theme in his work is the parlous state of learning and especially the widespread lack of understanding of the "house rules" for productive intellectual activity. The relevant books here are "The House of Intellect" (1959), "Science: The Glorious Entertainment"(1964) and "The American University" (1968).
The message of "The House of Intellect" is that its inhabitants, the intellectuals themselves, have trashed the house. The blame cannot be placed with the crassness or greed of big business, the shallowness of a consumer society, or the ignorance of the uneducated. The major malign influences are distorted perceptions of the nature and function of Art, Science and Philanthropy.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsBarzun rocks the house
By A Customer on November 22, 2003
Format: Paperback
I came upon this book when reading reviews for Barzun's more recent "From Dawn to Decadence". The very positive reviews about "The House of intellect" are absolutely right...this is a masterpiece. Where "From Dawn to Decadence" is a wonderful historical panorama, "The House of Intellect" instructs how the intellect should properly be used. He starts with a criticism of the misuse of intellect by the educators of his day, and then moves on to cover the proper use of intellect in all our modern affairs. Most insightful was his admonition to understand how truly dangerous ideas can be! Finally, he even applies intellect to the romantic side of mental life, including affairs of the heart. Ideas, intellect, intellectual, ideologue--don't be confused about what these mean. Read it...it will change how you think!
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5.0 out of 5 starsRead It!
By Eugene L. Stickley on December 7, 2003
Format: Paperback
I recently read Barzun's book "Critical Questions" in search of some better understanding of my reactions to some contemporary art. I have rediscovered one of the most incisive thinkers and clearest writers I have ever had the pleasure to read.
I have a strong memory of reading "The House of Intellect" as a college student. It is one of the very few books that I can remember from those long ago days when I was only learning to learn. "The House..." had a positive and long lasting effect on my desire to study and study well.
I am in the process of rereading "The House..." Barzun points to example after example in the world around him (50 years ago) of prominent critics and public opinion molders who are merely aping current fashions in thought and who are simply bending and arranging facts to support their pet opinions.
You will learn from Barzun why "The House..." must have scholarly discipline which alone can offer us a shot at truth. Those who are labor in the intellectual vineyards are failing themselves and the public if they allow themselves to shortcut their research, report merely what is acceptable or just plain manipulate their facts.
The points Barzun makes are just as true today as they were in the 1950's. The trends in faulty thinking and reporting on certain topics continue up to 2004. Reading Barzun at least will help you to view what you read and what you hear with a more reliable filter.
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4.0 out of 5 starsKnock, Knock, Knocking on Intellect's Door
By Bryan Byrd on January 7, 2010
Format: Paperback
As someone who would like to live in the 'House of Intellect' - but is probably more suited to the wood shed of Intellect - my diversions have often been outside the mainstream. Occasionally, I've been able to interest my family and friends in these pursuits, which they may have initially discounted as boring or dull. This has led me to believe that much of the resistance against a celebration of Intellect today is rooted in its presentation. Generally speaking (and very generally), some people who have the power to foster a culture that places a premium on Intellect may actually instead surround it with barriers, as if to keep it the property of their exclusive group. In this way, certain 'intellectuals' have spawned a habit of 'anti-intellectualism'.

Or so it's seemed that way to me - I suppose there are many factors. But it was with great interest I read about Mr. Barzun's book, 'The House of Intellect', along with its original subtitle, "How Intellect, the prime force in Western civilization, is being destroyed by our culture in the name of Art, Science, and Philanthropy". Honestly, I think my initial interest was simply a desire to read someone who would confirm my assumptions about the state of Intellect today. It isn't as though I think activity in Intellect has vanished, but as a member of the non-collegiate, blue-collar pragmatist crowd, I feel bombarded by media that is not only hostile toward the mind, but purposely seeks to render it comatose. So it was a pleasing idea to seek shelter in 'The House of Intellect', and to come in out of the vacuous, insulting rain of celebrity culture and ideological blather.

Mr.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA CLASSIC. Thanks!

A CLASSIC. Thanks! Mo Murray

Published 25 days ago by mo murray
3.0 out of 5 starsNot for the religious

Jacques Barzun's secular perspective skewed his understanding of history. He regarded the renaissance as a "dawn" for Western culture, rather than the descent into... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Ulysses
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent

Published 18 months ago by Glenn Clark
5.0 out of 5 starsa portrait of dusk

Summary: This book defines Intellect as the storehouse of human intelligence accumulated throughout written history. The bricks and mortar of this house are words and numbers. Read more

Published on June 5, 2014 by Lazarus
5.0 out of 5 starsThe book clarifies important topics about the human condition

This book explains the role of intellect in human society and how it is something completely different from intelligence. Read more

Published on March 12, 2014 by Robin Gambill
4.0 out of 5 starsDense but interesing

This is a somewhat dated, but very erudite book. To get the full force of Barzun, I would recommend his work: "From Dawn to Decadence."

Published on November 22, 2013 by jkw
5.0 out of 5 starsFresh, illuminating, germane...

From some 50 years ago, Jacques Barzun's critique of education, intelligence, and intellect is a fresh, illuminating, and germane as if it were written yesterday.

Published on October 17, 2013 by D F Tuttle
5.0 out of 5 starsIt Got Started Before You Think

When I read this book I was struck by the fact that it said everything, in the 1950s, that everyone started to chatter about in the 1980s and still chatter about today. Read more

Published on December 11, 2012 by Douglas W. Skinner
5.0 out of 5 starsIst Edition is NOT a paperback book!

If this is a paperback then it is not a 1st edition copy of this book. The first edition is a hardcover cloth bound book. Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York. 1959

Published on March 31, 2006 by J. Richmond

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