Desperate Philosophers

An interesting point that Arendt made in chapter 10 was that "the greater [certain philosophers] loom in our tradition of philosophy, the more they were inclined to find ways and means of reinterpreting these inherent traits" (1. withdrawal from the world of appearances 2. self-destructive tendency 3. knowledge of thinking only as long as thinking lasts) (88). Even more curious is that Arendt qualifies this by stating that philosophers are trying to reinterpret these facts, not for the masses, but for themselves. They appear to be unwilling to accept the fact that their chosen profession could, in fact, be useless. They will  stick to their subject without acknowledging that it could lead to nothing. Perhaps this is the reason that Plato feared people's derisive laughter as a danger and believed that the masses would rise up against the philosophers if they saw an opportunity.