Habitus of the German Intellectual of the 1930s and the Sources of the Anti-Intellectual

Abstract

The article traces the ethical model of "hostintellectual" by the example of Erich Kastner. The typological analysis demonstrates that the source of the anti-intellectual can be seen in Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince", as well as in Shakespeare’s "Othello". The "host-intellectual" – the ethically responsible intellectual - indicates a problem in the political sphere, while by his altruistic behavior implicitly or explicitly "illustrates" immoral, irresponsible "punctures" and flaws on the board of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. The analysis showed that the true "hostintellectual" by his behavior (habitus) becomes an indicator, a "touchstone" that expresses the painful symptoms (and even diagnoses!) a society.