the French and American men I talked with understand intelligence through strongly contrasted cultural categories. The French stress having 'un sens critique' (a critical approach), which they take to be a measure of one's analytical power. They also read intelligence through intellectual playfulness, capacity for abstraction, eloquence, and style. In contrast, we say that American highly value competence. Hence, they largely read intelligence through expertise, attributing great importance to 'knowing the facts,' and most of all to knowing 'relevant,' i.e., useful facts. I discuss these cross-national differences in turn."
Lamont goes on to trace out the French tradition of schooling, the French Cartesian tradition, and very concrete ways in which the attitude they take is the result of a wider set of social practices and institutions.
She goes on to explain why the American man in her research admire expertise, practical knowledge, facts, and competence. It is revealed, she says, in the type of reading USers do. They read trade publications, business magazines, and anything that helps them keep up in their work or to make informed purchasing decisions as consumers.
A French business man who thinks he's distinct from others because an intellectual points at reading the latest intellectual best sellers. The US bizman points at reading Consumer Reports, Car and Driver, Sports Illustrated, and computer industry magazines.
A great mind to the French is Raymond Aron, Sartre, Foucault, etc. For the American, it is someone successful in business.
Moreover, for the French interviews, it was acceptable for an intelligent man to be incompetent in the organization of his everyday life. Americans, on the contrary, find this a sign of incompetence and thus a lack of intelligence: the person may be smart, but not practically so, and since those smarts have no purpose to advance a goal or interest, then it isn't intelligent at all.
In the next passage, she contrasts the way the Fr view intelligence for the purposes of engaging in an intellectual style. To be intelligent is to be eloquent and have a flair. For the American, it is about self-actualization. She moves out of a discussion of intellectualism to talk about the premium USers place on being in shape as self-actualization.
When I get a chance, I'll scan these passages and post them at the blog.
"You know how it is, come for the animal porn, stay for the cultural analysis." -- Michael Berube
Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org (NSFW)