GPT

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident, had a striking perspective on stupidity, which he saw as a moral and social failure rather than just an intellectual one. His reflections on stupidity, particularly in Letters and Papers from Prison, suggest that he viewed it as more dangerous than outright malice.

Stupidity as a Social and Moral Phenomenon

Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is not simply a lack of intelligence but a condition that arises under certain social and political circumstances—especially in situations where people relinquish independent thought in favor of ideological conformity or group pressure.

• Stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a state of being captured by external forces. A highly intelligent person can become "stupid" when they surrender their critical faculties to a movement, a leader, or societal pressures.
• It is more dangerous than malice. An evil person can be confronted, reasoned with, or resisted, but a stupid person is impervious to reason, logic, or even facts. They are not acting on independent judgment but are absorbed into a collective mindset.
• It thrives under authoritarianism. Bonhoeffer saw that under Nazi rule, many otherwise decent people became "stupid" because they simply accepted propaganda and groupthink, refusing to think for themselves.

Stupidity as a Choice (or a Surrender of Responsibility)

Bonhoeffer’s key insight is that stupidity is not merely a cognitive failure but a failure of will and courage—people become stupid because they allow themselves to be carried along by forces greater than themselves. This makes it both a moral and a social problem.

• When people cease to think critically, they become tools of those in power.
• The stupid person is often self-satisfied and immune to correction, because they are not engaging with reality but with the narratives that have been fed to them.
• The antidote to stupidity is not teaching or argument but liberation—people must be freed from the forces that make them stupid before they can think clearly again.