Have you ever wondered why, when we think we have found a solution to a problem, we just create more problems? Some people ascribe this to the universal phenomenon called stupidity (domheid). Few people in the world are more preoccupied with stupidity than Dutch philosopher Matthijs van Boxsel, author of a three-volume Encyclopedia of Stupidity and a scholar of morosophy and pataphysics. Van Boxsel maintains that stupidity is a driving force behind civilisation, citing the embarrassing example of the Netherlands’ polders and dykes. He offers interesting insights into a subject that has fascinated philosophers through the ages.
Producer: Marijke van der Meer
Broadcast: August 27, 2007