You *need* calories, water & sleep. The rest is farting around.
Conversation
If we “need” intellectualism in culture, it is because we expect it to deliver some benefit to the goal of culture. And you can’t measure that benefit until you define the goal.
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The goal of “culture” is either intellectualism, in which case your question is tautological, or it is farting around, and intellectualism is an excellent way of doing so.
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What stuff exactly? Facts? That’d be science & math, of course....
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Dunno... legal systems, medical administration practices, investigative journalism,... lots of things seem to require intellectual culture, aren’t STEM, and aren’t “farting around” (which is quite a small minority... people like me)
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99.99% of all of those disciplines operate with no trace of “intellectualism” of the sort for which there are “anti-intellectuals.” And they would be fine without the other 0.01%.
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Hm I disagree the “deep state” hate is against that kind of harder-edged intellectual culture. People who harden ideas into institutions,

