ABSTRACT
Analysis of the roles of modern intellectuals has been a major concern of the sociology of knowledge ever since the seminal writings of Karl Mannheim. Mannheim argued that in the modern world the clash of contending doctrines and ideologies has built a tower of Babel so that it is no longer possible for the spokespersons of antagonistic classes and strata to find common ground. If the intellectual arena is dominated by spokespersons for differing interests, truly objective thought becomes impossible. Given this desperate situation, Mannheim argued, only disinterested intellectuals, detached from the concerns of all interest-dominated groups, would be able to develop truly independent modes of thought. In a world dominated by what has been called a dialogue of the deaf, only free-floating, i.e. detached, intellectuals would be capable of advancing objective modes of thought through translation of one structure of ideas into another, and through attaining knowledge no longer contaminated by the advocacy of special interests.
