Poison ivy: Does higher education lead to antisemitism? - opinion

Throughout the Book of Proverbs, King Solomon explores the relationship between knowledge and morality. Much of the book presumes that knowledge and wisdom expand moral reasoning.

Ideally, education does expose us to larger universal truths, extending our horizons beyond our personal and narrow experiences. Any encounter with broader truths decentralizes self-interest and should enhance ethical sensitivity. Additionally, education highlights the complexity of the human condition, hopefully sensitizing us to the experiences and needs of others. 

Solomon wasn’t the only thinker to assume that expanded knowledge heightens moral conscience. Socrates asserted that “virtue is knowledge,” assuming that immoral behavior was purely a result of ignorance. Enlightenment thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Locke and Rousseau were optimistic that widespread education would yield a more civil and humane society. Knowledge, many asserted, was a portal to moral behavior and reasoning. 

However, the shocking events of the past two months have debunked these assumptions. Our just war to defeat pure evil and defend the world against moral collapse has elicited a vicious wave of enraged antisemitism. Astonishingly, college campuses across the US have become podiums for hatred and the support of rape, murder, torture, and dismemberment of human beings. They have also become launching pads for violence against Jews. 

University administrations sat by idly as their students – presumably exposed to the best and finest of Western education – rioted for genocide and, in some instances, expressed their verbal hatred through acts of physical violence. 

To make matters worse, several Ivy League college presidents were summoned by the US Congress to explain their inaction and their implicit support for demonstrations of hate. Their moral hedging and their embarrassing attempts to “contextualize” violence and bigotry were shameful, providing a wake-up call for those who had previously revered these colleges as “prestigious” institutions of higher learning. Several of these administrators walked back their heinous comments after the fact, but their retractions seemed little more than lame apologies meant to save their cozy appointments rather than heartfelt admissions of moral dysfunction.

History repeats itself. 

Furthermore, some of the Israel-bashing and Jew-threatening is feeble herd mentality. Social media favors the most vocal shouters and the most aggressive posters. Many protesters against Israel are pitiable stooges, completely ignorant of even the basic details of this war, blindly parroting irrelevant slogans unrelated to the complex war we are carefully navigating. 

Beware of the herd. 

How do intellectual giants of academia end up embracing antisemitism?

However, there are much deeper roots to this appalling academic moral freefall. This intellectual tragedy occurring within these “beacons of enlightened thinking” exposes serious shortfalls within Western culture and showcases dangers implicit in higher education. If knowledgeable professors and cultured students are being duped into morally humiliating and venomous opinions, there is something structurally flawed about our culture. 

Evidently, some people are too smart for their own good. 

Our world is complex, and human experience is multi-layered. Education trains us to be analytical – to evaluate information, consider multiple perspectives, and make informed decisions. Through analysis, we probe beyond surface-level understanding, challenge preconceived notions, and embrace complexity. When we look at the world through a periscope, we miss much of its sweep and texture. Education and analysis enable us to see the world large and whole, rather than narrow and simplistic. 

However, the methodology of analysis also blurs moral clarity. As we delve into the intricacies of intellectual analysis, we inadvertently lose sight of simple truths that anchor moral behavior. While there are many complex moral issues, black-and-white moral situations demand clear-cut and unqualified moral certainty. 

For this reason, common or uneducated people often possess stronger moral conviction than those who are educated. Ordinary people are often more attuned to inner and untainted moral instincts than sophisticates, who ignore intuitive moral reasoning in their endless search for convoluted moral formulas.

THE TORAH introduces Jacob as a simple man living in tents while tending to his sheep. Although Jacob’s life would soon turn complicated, he enjoyed a simple youth, insulated from the duplicity of this world and its complex moral predicaments. Similar to Jacob, many of our greatest leaders began their moral journeys as simple shepherds, far removed from cosmopolitan sophistication. Their pure and noble upbringing provided an ingrained and indissoluble moral backbone. 

Moses the shepherd flees Egypt as a fugitive from the law. Though it is in his best interest to remain incognito, he cannot ignore the young girls he witnesses being harassed at the watering hole. Ignoring any “context” of this harassment, and despite his desire for confidentiality, he rallies to their defense. 

My revered mentor, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, modeled an uncanny combination of intellectual sophistication and steadfast moral clarity. His lectures were both intellectually scintillating and panoramic. He would discuss a single issue for hours, carefully and delicately unfolding concealed layers of meaning. He taught us to see the world as nuanced rather than binary. Yet, he also displayed clear moral thinking and frequently expressed moral outrage against injustice. His analytic talents didn’t obfuscate his moral courage. 

This past month has taught us a harsh lesson: Knowledge doesn’t automatically translate into moral integrity. 

Perhaps we should examine who we admire and which institutions we consider prestigious. Sharp-witted professors may impress us with their brilliance but may miserably fail the morality litmus test. Maybe we should pay more respect to those who display moral courage and clear-headed moral principles. Maybe they are more prestigious. 

There may be a more sinister factor causing this despicable moral dysfunction. Acquisition of knowledge can often cause intellectual snobbery.

People who amass knowledge often feel superior to those who are less educated. Education provides cultural and social opportunities, including better jobs and social networks. These socioeconomic privileges often create a superiority complex. 

Though intellectual elitism has always existed, in the past it was partially justified given a world of mass illiteracy, when the non-educated had absolutely no access to knowledge. In the modern era of widespread literacy, information is accessible to most of the population, who are more than capable of ethical reasoning without benefiting from enlightened moral theories of superior intellects.

Ivy League colleges have become cultural icons. As they are vital for professional advancement, they have become objects of prestige and even cultural idolization. 

Parents are willing to pay sizable fees to facilitate their children’s acceptance, and there have been numerous high-profile scandals in which illegal bribes opened the doors to otherwise unsuitable students. Given the absence of an actual aristocracy in the US, Ivy League professors and students are sometimes viewed as pseudo-aristocracy – which often breeds smug arrogance within their inner circles.

It is fair to wonder whether their repulsive moral equivocation stems from a false superiority complex. 

Why is our moral reality so obvious to everyone but not to them? Could it be that they perceive themselves as possessing a higher and more sophisticated moral logic and better tools for moral calculations? 

Is their moral confusion a byproduct of their intellectual arrogance? 

The writer is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has smicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University, as well as a master’s degree in English literature from the City University of New York.