And not getting drawn into petty arguments with “Poghoses” and “Vardushes”
One of my favorite authors, the German Protestant theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, faced a particular challenge while still in his twenties. How could people who had embraced the ideas of the Enlightenment and the achievements of modern science be brought back to religion? In other words, how could one demonstrate that religion still had an important role to play in modern times, when the minds of educated Europeans—and especially educated Germans—had been captured by the decidedly non-religious philosophical ideas of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel?
Schleiermacher naturally understood that his audience could only be educated people, because, as he himself wrote, the uneducated need preachers, not books. Thus was born his first famous work, published in 1799 under the title On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss Schleiermacher’s efforts—which, without exaggeration, were heroic—to elevate the role of religion in a new liberal age. I simply want to note one thing: he addressed people who possessed a certain level of education, who disagreed with his ideas, but who could at least be expected to listen to arguments.
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The twenty-first century, and particularly the reality of social media, has fundamentally redefined the boundary between the educated and the uneducated. It is not that the boundary no longer exists. The problem is that two centuries ago uneducated people generally acknowledged that they were uneducated. The overwhelming majority of Germans had, naturally, never read Schleiermacher’s books—just as they had never read Fichte, Schelling, or many others. But that overwhelming majority did not claim authority to pass judgment on those books. Nor would it have occurred to a resident of Königsberg to write a letter to Immanuel Kant arguing that his philosophy was wrong because the philosopher happened to be 157 centimeters tall.
The changes brought about by the twenty-first century have had many consequences. In my view, the most significant is that dialogue among educated people is drowned out by the noise of an uneducated majority.
Imagine two outstanding experts in international relations debating TRIPP. One sees tremendous opportunities in the project; the other sees serious risks. In theory, such a discussion could take place in a calm and respectful manner. But if it is broadcast on a social media platform, the value of that high-level intellectual debate is immediately undermined by the comments surrounding it.
Let us assume that twenty people, whose knowledge of TRIPP extends little beyond having heard its name, decide to offer their “authoritative” opinions. Ten of them write that X is a “Russian stooge,” while the other ten insist that Y has “sold out to the Turks.” That is the end of the debate. It effectively ceases to exist, submerged beneath conversations of that kind and at that level. Even if the comments section is disabled, the participants in the debate cannot entirely ignore the atmosphere created by such reactions.
So what is the solution?
The solution is for people to know as much as possible about TRIPP. The more they know, the greater the chance that they will hesitate before expressing an uninformed opinion.
Or consider another example. Suppose a certain Vardush comments under a video, “Russian spy.” There is little point in trying to defend yourself by insisting that you are not a spy. It is far more useful to explain, in the clearest possible terms, how the intelligence services of a particular country actually operate. Or if a certain Poghos calls a journalist “bought and paid for,” the appropriate response is to explain how serious, professional media organizations function today.
You may say that such explanations will not influence people like Vardush or Poghos. That is entirely possible. But they may influence their children or grandchildren.
There is no alternative to educating people. There is no alternative to the work of enlightenment.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
Aravot daily
23.06.2026
