Public intellectuals in the age of viral modernity: An EPAT collective writing project

Abstract

There is an ecology of bad ideas, just as there is an ecology of weeds -Gregory Bateson (1972, p. 492) While there are classical antecedents in ancient intellectual traditions, the modern notion of the public intellectual originates with the Enlightenment and begins to flourish during liberal modernity with the structural transformation of the bourgeois public sphere in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Habermas, 1989(Habermas, [1962). Democracy is theorised as an ideal speech community where validity claims can be discursively redeemed and public discourse is deemed to be governed by the force of argumentation alone. The history, role, and status of the public intellectual cannot be divorced from the changing concept of 'the public', originating in the Latin publicus and populus, and denoting 'the people', a group or association, state, or nation. Its early usages developed in relation to 'common access' (open to all) and the notions of the 'public interest', the 'public good' (considered to be both nonexcludable and non-rivalrous), and 'public opinion', a 'weak' epistemological determination of public judgement. The modern history of the public intellectual thus is indissociably associated with public discourse, public education and the rise of public media, referring, in particular, to public broadcasting involving radio, television and other electronic media designed to inform public debate.In terms of a broad historical epistemology the notion of public intellectuals today must be understood in relation to the concept of 'viral modernity', characterised by viral and open media, and technologies of post-truth that reveal the transformations of the 'public', its forms and its future possibilities . The concept of 'viral modernity' is based upon the nature of viruses, the ancient and critical roles they play in evolution and culture, to understand their basic application to the evolution of information and forms of bioinformation in the social world. There are parallel relations and symmetries between epidemics and infodemics (conspiracies) on the one hand, and open global science and

Are Professors Satisfied With Their Jobs? The Factors That Influence Professors’ Job Satisfaction

“…For lower-ranked professors, they should be given more opportunities to experience the sense of fulfilment and social effects associated with their work, which can be achieved by encouraging them to participate in projects related to the university's social responsibility and implementing a reward system that enhances their professional commitment to higher education. As public intellectuals, professors can make cultural contributions and influence society (Peters et al, 2021). They can apply their professional knowledge to influence society and the younger generation by fulfilling service and instruction duties and building social and interpersonal networks that include diverse industries.…”

ChatGPT and its ethical implications for STEM research and higher education: a media discourse analysis

“…Hence, academic leaders and policy-decision makers should recognize potential risk factors and incidents, preventing crises in certain emergencies. They can serve their societies as public intellectuals, critical mentors, mediators, facilitators, and influential figures to promote critical conflict resolutions (Hansen, 2008;Nam, 2020;Peters et al, 2022). Accordingly, the most overarching conflicting relationships, potential crises, and risk factors, as well as plausible crisis management strategies and praxis, will be presented in this discussion section.…”

A Shout‐out for the Value of Management Education Research: ‘Pedagogy is not a Dirty Word’

“…New technologies are opening up significant opportunities (and risks) concerning the nature of management knowledge (cf. Peters et al, 2023), yet investments in curriculum and pedagogical development have not followed.…”