Zeal Without Knowledge Analysis

Is individual pursuit of knowledge the key to combating personal or social oppressors? In articles entitled “Propaganda Under a Dictatorship,” (1958/2012) and “Zeal Without Knowledge,” (1978/2012), authors Aldous Huxley and Hugh Nibley answer this question in ways which contrast, yet complement each other. Learning is significant in life in order combat many ills including inertia, boredom and ignorance. Studying these texts gives new insight into why a person would hope to avoid such plagues. Having a desire to be free from oppressors of all kinds is also sufficient motivation to strive to gain even more knowledge
In his article “Zeal Without Knowledge” Hugh Nibley, former member of the BYU history department, argues that without the
Huxley uses the term “herd-poisoning” (p. 249) to describe what happens to otherwise reasonable people when gathered in a group; today’s popular culture might describe this as “herd-mentality”. His contention is that this dictator employed the art of mind-control on a level previously unheard of in human history. Huxley points to the advances in technology such as loud-speaker and radio transmission as a way to transmit information to mass groups of people. This ability to convey thought to so many people at once removes their desire to think on their own. They react like frantic, mindless animals, complying with whatever action an orator might instruct them to do. Huxley continues that the enemy of this formula is an intellectual. In order to combat this the propagandist must fight rationality, facts, and literature. Huxley paints a stark picture of a dictator gaining power as a result of his ability to develop the use of propaganda and deliver it to the masses. His stark words are echoingly familiar as he closes with reminders of the new world of mass communication. He leaves the audience wondering what can an individual do to combat the possibility of another such dictator over human
However, their methodology is dissimilar. With Huxley, he stirs the feelings left in the wake of an oppressive leader, with the subtle admonishment that better education of the masses would help to avoid similar situations in the future. Nibley’s approach is much more abrupt. He admonishes readers not to waste their lives, but to fill their time expanding their knowledge. Huxley’s audience is a population acquainted with the effects of modernization. Post WWII, the Korean War, and in the midst of the Cold War, Huxley’s audience is familiar with the effects conspiring men have on the masses. His message continues to be timeless because of the importance of individual thought. Nibley’s audience is more concentrated; he aims his remarks at Mormons in particular. Because of this, the message has the ability to be more acute in its purpose. It is not constrained by generic terms, and he explores the topic in depth. The pursuit of knowledge is unending, which makes his article continue to be