How is genius perceived? Welcomed or rejected?
Today I am going to make a departure from my usual style of post, to ask you a question. It is a question which I may look at in several ways, in the future, but today I want women among the readership of this blog, to think on the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an influential 18th Century philosopher.
"Women, in general, are not attracted to art at all, nor knowledge, and not at all to genius."
Rousseau.
Was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (June 28 1712 to July 3 1778) right? Are women unattracted to men of genius?
Rousseau was not hard on women, for a man of his time and, indeed wrote of women as being "cleverer than men...in matters of practical reason." It may be of interest to know, too, that Rousseau was a very handsome man, so I cannot think that his opinion derived from any negative experience in that department. Yet, he was a man of genius, too.
So, please give the matter some thought, and post your thoughts in a comment. Does Rousseau's observation hold true in the modern world? Do women welcome genius or reject it? Why do they do so, in your opinion?
Labels: adult genius, Genius, men, reactions to giftedness, Rousseau, women
5 Comments:
Maybe women are unattracted to genius due to the baggage that comes with it. Geniuses are hard to live with.
You may well be right Jason.
Some geniuses have been famously disagreeable (Isaac Newton for instance couldn't have been easy to get along with).
Others are so focussed on their work they probably wouldn't notice the woman in their life!
i think it is because women at that time were not given any chance to show their talent.they thought women just have to be at home,doing house works.so,they dont send their daugther to school properly,,maybe they also thought their children (girl/woman)just have to know how to read and count only..
sadly,this thought still being use in some countries.
I would say that at times, it takes a genius to understand another genius.
I would cringe at the prospect of my boyfriend telling me to "act normal", when I fervently pursue my interests. Dealing with the society at large is hard enough, what more from a person you hold dear?
Thank you for your comment. I feel that it derives from deeply felt experience of the kind of difficulty in being understood and appreciated that geniuses undergo.
I wish you well on being accepted, welcomed, understood and appreciated.
Kind regards
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