Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here, let me start off by sharing a review that a listener recently sent me via email:
Hi Kathy, Thanks for doing the podcast. I listen to a lot of podcasts while I work nights, and your episodes are always on my playlists. I just finished your episode on Presentism, a term that I'd never heard before. When you defined it, something in my mind clicked. That's what CS Lewis called chronological snobbery! I love both terms, and I love connecting the dots. Thanks for facilitating that. Mary
First of all, that’s super cool - thanks so much for getting in touch with me, Mary! I love hearing from my listeners! And second, I also love CS Lewis…and I hadn’t heard this term before: “chronological snobbery”. So I had to look it up and Mary was right…it’s very similar to Presentism, which we talked about back in episode 80. But since there are some subtle differences, and b/c I love CS Lewis, I thought I’d do a whole episode today about Chronological Snobbery!
There are a few fallacies that are in the same vein and can sound really similar, so let’s do a quick review of two that are similar to Chronological Snobbery. First is Presentism. Presentism is a way of analyzing history where the past is interpreted through present-day attitudes & moral standards. When someone commits the Presentism Fallacy, they're judging past actions by today’s standards & attitudes. Now, there’s also the Historian’s Fallacy. The Historian’s Fallacy is when someone judges past decisions & actions based on today’s knowledge. And that brings us to CS Lewis’ Chronological Snobbery, which is the belief that the ideas, discoveries, art, and architecture of societies in the past must be inferior b/c we are so much more advanced now.
I’ll give you some examples of this in a minute, but I feel like I want to pause to say this to you: don’t get overwhelmed by so many fallacies, especially when there are several, like I’m talking about today, that are so similar. I know they can start to all blend together b/c it happens to me, too! Even after researching them and recording episodes for each one, I get them mixed up and forget the names, and you need to know that that’s ok. You’re not failing! It’s a lot to take in and remember after just a short, 5-minute podcast episode! I’m working on some resources that should be available next month to help you with getting some good, real-world practice, so hang tight on that. But for now, just know that you’re doing great just by getting exposure to the fallacies and exposure to learning the skills of HOW to think. I promise, you’re already light years ahead of people who haven’t learned these yet!
Ok, back to Chronological Snobbery. So again, Chronological Snobbery is the belief that the ideas, discoveries, art, architecture of societies in the past must be inferior because we are so much more advanced now. It’s disregarding people & ideas of the past simply b/c they’re not as “modern” as we are now. You may be thinking that this sounds similar to an Appeal to Novelty, which we covered back in episode 27, and you’d be right - Chronological Snobbery is a form of Appeal to Novelty! Y’all, I could probably do an hour long discussion on this one, but you know I do short episodes, so I’m going to keep this short. So let’s start with an example of Chronological Snobbery.
Someone who says, “Modern architecture is superior in every way to all those old buildings.” Ok, really? Can you really compare a modern skyscraper to a soaring medieval cathedral and say that the skyscraper is superior just b/c it’s been built more recently?
Another example that can happen in religion is where certain denominations think that THEY are the only ones with the RIGHT ideas and interpretations of the Bible just b/c they’re the most recent or modern ‘flavor’ to come about.
The problem with the thinking behind Chronological Snobbery is simple: We have to analyze ideas, art, design, etc on the basis & merits of what they actually are, and not judge them as invalid or naive just b/c they’re old. Chronological Snobbery operates on the myth that everything modern must be better, more right, and more valid. But that’s not necessarily true!
Think about this: The Bible tells us that in the Old Testament, people used to live for hundreds of years before the flood. Now, think about that for a minute. Think about if Albert Einstein or Thomas Jefferson or Nikola Tesla had lived for hundreds of years. Or deep thinkers like Aristotle or Jesus’ disciples or thinkers like CS Lewis! What kind of inventions, ideas and insights would they have! We are foolish if we think that just b/c we live in the present that we have the corner marker on truth!
Alright, here’s another example of Chronological Snobbery that I have seen on social media. It’s a meme that goes like this: “This is your periodic reminder that the US Constitution was written by a handful of dudes who didn’t know what atoms were, practiced medicine based on the four humors, had no idea that dinosaurs existed, used guns that fired four rounds per minute, regarded women as literal property, and would have considered a lightbulb to be pure witchcraft.” Whew, that’s a doozy! First of all, we have to ask if all those things are even really true! Would they really have considered the lightbulb to be witchcraft? To me, that’s a really far stretch, but can you also see the Chronological Snobbery at work here? This meme is basically arguing that b/c some of the ideas and beliefs of that time are considered outdated now, that EVERYTHING they did or believed must also be outdated and therefore obsolete and should be replaced with our new, more modern ideas. Namely, this meme is trying to discredit the US Constitution by using the fallacy of Chronological Snobbery. It’s not even attempting to look at the merit of the ideas that are actually presented in the Constitution!
Question to ask yourself: “Is it really true that it’s better just b/c it’s new?” or “Is it really true that it’s invalid just b/c it’s old?” *repeat*
Thank you, Mary, for emailing and telling me about Chronological Snobbery! What a fun discovery it was for me!
Lastly, a huge thank you to this show’s sponsor, Classical Conversations, the homeschool program our family has been using for 11 years, and where we have learned the skills of knowing HOW to think! I’m here to tell you that if you’ve been considering homeschooling for whatever reason, it’s not too late to get started! In fact, we have 2 free books available to you for free when you fill out the form at www.classicalconversations.com/gibbens .
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
