Is the present generation any smarter than the one before? And more broadly, how do present generations stack up against those of 3,000 years ago?

The quick, glib answer is that we must be smarter; look at all the technology we have at our fingertips today, all the result of human endeavour; things like the laptop this is being typed on weren’t around even a generation ago, so surely this is absolute proof we must be getting smarter.

And the pace of change inexorably is on an upward spiral; computer chips double in capacity each year, and they are at the heart of so much improvement.

Man certainly has learnt to harness technology, and man and machine, in tandem, are, in quantum leaps, improving the design, functionality and efficiency of almost every device and activity.

Yet does this mean we are individually smarter? I challenge any modern-day thinker to match the purity of thought and wisdom of Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato and scores of others.

The most pure form of human thinking – intelligence as opposed to knowledge if you like – are at the core of those twin classical disciplines of logic and philosophy.

It is arguable that the present global malaise and economic turmoil arises because of deficiencies in these two areas; we now know a lot, but do we think about and understand the really important stuff?

Philosophy ought to enable us to prioritise and logic enable us to concentrate our minds on the critical issues; clearly modernity and the plethora of knowledge now available has not helped at all sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Perhaps we should now spend time on pondering on these classical disciplines, allowing time for full and proper understanding, and developing a global equivalent to the ancient Greek forum where the most able minds gathered and debated the key issues of the day.

In this age of plenty, and break-neck speed it is arguable we need less not more and to place higher value on pure thought that can make sense of our disparate and competing world.

Tags: #Heraclitus, #Plato, #Soctrates