Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truth

by A.O. Scott

Anti-intellectualism is virtually our civic religion. “Critical thinking” may be a ubiquitous educational slogan—a vaguely defined skill we hope our children pick up on the way to adulthood—but the rewards for not using your intelligence are immediate and abundant.

There is no room for doubt and little time for reflection as we find ourselves buffeted by a barrage of sensations and a flood of opinion.

That the critic is a craftsman of sorts is obvious enough; I want to insist that the critic is also a creator.