--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being able to provoke a different point…" description: "\"Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/susie-orbach-14175_able_being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point_239807.jpg" --- # Being able to provoke a different point of view to the… ![“Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or radio reportage is what a public intellectual does. But it's not merely about being oppositional, because that's too negative.” quote by Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/susie-orbach-14175_able_being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point_239807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/susie-orbach-14175_able_being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point_239807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39e/susie-orbach-14175_able_being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point_239807.jpg) > “Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or radio reportage is what a public intellectual does. But it's not merely about being oppositional, because that's too negative.” [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A public intellectual challenges prevailing ideologies without simply opposing them, fostering nuanced discourse. **In simple terms:** Challenge dominant views constructively. Key Takeaway Encourage critical thinking. Themes critical thinking public discourse nuance Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Academic debates - media commentary - policy discussions Key Concepts Intellectual responsibility dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How can we promote constructive critique? - What safeguards prevent negativity? A Different Perspective Opposition can become polarizing if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Different point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-point-of-view/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) ## Related quotes > [“I am an intellectual. This does not mean I am intelligent, but that ideas are more important to me than people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sheehan/i-am-an-intellectual-this-does-not-mean-i-am-intelligent-but-that/) [George Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sheehan/) > [To be intellectual does not require one to be alienated and oppositional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/to-be-intellectual-does-not-require-one-to-be-alienated-and/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [I think I'm fascinated by the power of religion in our culture. Like a lot of secular, liberal people, I ignored it for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-think-i-m-fascinated-by-the-power-of-religion-in-our-culture-like-a/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [If you read any of the biographies on J. Edgar Hoover, you find that they contradict each other more than they agree. Often times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/if-you-read-any-of-the-biographies-on-j-edgar-hoover-you-find-that/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“The political perspective of this book, ironically, is the progeny of the progressive potential of capitalism as an historical system. The joint possibility of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-bowles/the-political-perspective-of-this-book-ironically-is-the-progeny-of/) Samuel Bowles > [Sometimes people who want to understand Haiti from a political perspective may be missing part of the picture. They also need to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/sometimes-people-who-want-to-understand-haiti-from-a-political-2/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [From a political perspective, it is important to uphold certain universal principles so that, for example, you can condemn both Islamist forms of violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-assiter/from-a-political-perspective-it-is-important-to-uphold-certain/) [Alison Assiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-assiter/) > [Political perspective and the Cannes festival are linked almost as inextricably as fast-food consumption and detrimental effects on health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-mitchell/political-perspective-and-the-cannes-festival-are-linked-almost-as/) [Elvis Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-mitchell/) > [“A philosopher operates with deductions. A sophist operates with paradoxes. A "public intellectual" operates with buzzwords.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakub-bo-ydar-wi-niewski/a-philosopher-operates-with-deductions-a-sophist-operates-with/) Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski > [I never wanted to be a public intellectual or a talking head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/i-never-wanted-to-be-a-public-intellectual-or-a-talking-head/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [Tad Homer-Dixon is a rare kind of public intellectual, who combines real expertise with a commitment to communicate to the widest possible readership. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/tad-homer-dixon-is-a-rare-kind-of-public-intellectual-who-combines/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [What is the role of a public intellectual in the age of Twitter and soundbites? Is it to share your thoughts for the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/what-is-the-role-of-a-public-intellectual-in-the-age-of-twitter-and/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [“I am sometimes asked about the concept or definition of a 'public intellectual,' and though I find the whole idea faintly silly, I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-am-sometimes-asked-about-the-concept-or-definition-of-a-public/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I won a Marshall scholarship to read philosophy at Oxford, and what I most wanted to do was strengthen public intellectual culture - I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/i-won-a-marshall-scholarship-to-read-philosophy-at-oxford-and-what-i/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [ “\[The public intellectual\] will also describe how she can work a pop culture reference into her essay, comparing the Supreme Court to the creature… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-public-intellectual-will-also-describe-how-she-can-work-a-pop/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More by Susie Orbach > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Many young girls are constantly consumed by controlling and managing their body image to the extent that they are much more involved in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/many-young-girls-are-constantly-consumed-by-controlling-and-managing/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [From a child's point of view, there is rarely a great time for parents to separate, even if there has been a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/from-a-child-s-point-of-view-there-is-rarely-a-great-time-for-parents/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [We accept there's an emotional aspect to life. But we're not very developed in our ways of understanding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/we-accept-there-s-an-emotional-aspect-to-life-but-we-re-not-very/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [I think it is one of the capacities of human beings, to create style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/i-think-it-is-one-of-the-capacities-of-human-beings-to-create-style/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Bodies are becoming our personal mission to tame, extend and perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/bodies-are-becoming-our-personal-mission-to-tame-extend-and-perfect/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [“The truth is, we don't have an easy language for emotional life. That's why we have writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/the-truth-is-we-don-t-have-an-easy-language-for-emotional-life-that-s/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Our idea of a healthy body is so destabilised that insecure people have come to bolster their own bodies by deeming others - those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/our-idea-of-a-healthy-body-is-so-destabilised-that-insecure-people/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [The insistence that the commercialisation of the body is a fit subject for political discussion and intervention is well overdue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/the-insistence-that-the-commercialisation-of-the-body-is-a-fit/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Fat is a way of saying no to powerlessness and self-denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/fat-is-a-way-of-saying-no-to-powerlessness-and-self-denial/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [No one likes to feel helpless. We find it psychologically unbearable and inside ourselves we may try to make ourselves part author of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/no-one-likes-to-feel-helpless-we-find-it-psychologically-unbearable/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [“Children who feel that they are unloved can believe that there must be something very wrong about them which makes them unacceptable. The stinging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/children-who-feel-that-they-are-unloved-can-believe-that-there-must/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Boys, young men, men of all ages are being captivated by the new visual grammar which pushes men to pout and posture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/boys-young-men-men-of-all-ages-are-being-captivated-by-the-new-visual/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [No one leaves a long-term relationship scot-free or without conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/no-one-leaves-a-long-term-relationship-scot-free-or-without-conflict/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [There are so many young women who tip over into being a facsimile: they don't really inhabit their lives or their bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/there-are-so-many-young-women-who-tip-over-into-being-a-facsimile/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) [Explore all 47 Susie Orbach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or radio reportage is what a public intellectual does. 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