Public Intellectuals in the UK

Why doesn't the United Kingdom celebrate its intelligentsia?

French philosophers Jean Paul-Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir

In an article in The Observer, John Naughton explores the phenomenon of the 'public intellectual'. Noting the popularity of figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in France, Naughton wonders why a similar respect and admiration is not afforded to similar figures in the United Kingdom.

Source: John Naughton, 'Why don't we love our intellectuals?', The Observer, 8 May 2011

Also at A Piece of Monologue:

• Sartre: 'Adventures are in books'
• Jacques Derrida on Jean-Paul Sartre