the philosophy

ERUDITE is a word defined by what it is not.

e ("out of/away from") + rudis ("rough/rude/uncultivated/unlearned")

It is not vulgarity; it is not dogma; it is not passivity; it is not intolerance. The word has an air of elitism or condescension, but it is the opposite. Unlike pedigree, caste, or phenotype (those unchangeable qualities used to crush mobility and equality), erudition is undeniable. It is an attribute shaped out of the rough and the raw, a never-finished journey whose vehicle is the inalienable mind.

To be ERUDITE is to be a HUMANIST. With a paraphrase of E. M. Forster, the humanist archetype has four characteristics:

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ERUDITE seeks to uphold and entangle these four pillars, to be a beautiful mess, a shrine to reclaimed humanism in an era that finds nothing sacred in our abstract nakedness.

Knowledge can be context or it can be trivia. Trivia is unmoored; it has no bearing on the present moment, and it cannot be used to change anything. Context is knowledge specifically and inherently linked to a larger narrative. Context is empowering because it shapes present understanding and ability. We must revive context.

Context is the medium of meaning. How do we know if something is selfish or selfless, hierarchical or equal, specific or general, visceral or cerebral, indivisible or infinitely-divisible? Our connection to one another, to ourselves, and to the Cosmos is shaped by our perception of context. And so our perception determines the nature of our lives. An ERUDITE, a HUMANIST is someone who understands her multiplicity, her connectivity. Too little context and inconveniences can be the end of the world. Too much, and the beauty of the here and now suffocates in stimuli.

When we learn about the world, we have a remarkable tendency to see connections and patterns in seemingly random events. It produces in us the exhilaration and satisfaction of a good book or show or song. "We thrill to the diversity of nature expressing the idea of its order, its inherent rigor." Our search for purpose frames our comprehension of existence and the infinity of its constituent parts. Even if all this is not designed in the slightest, we will never stop imbuing the Universe with architecture and meaning and rhapsody. You are the raw shaping stuff spat out by stars eons ago and now conscious of your own arrangement.

ERUDITE is not a publication more concerned with exterior than interior, or vice versa. Because they are inseparable. No matter whether you look out into the unfathomable night sky or down into the murk of your own mind, you are looking at the same thing.