Intellectual - Terminology and Endeavours

Terminology and Endeavours

The term "intellectual" can denote three types of people. An intellectual is a person who uses thought and reason, intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning, in either a professional or a personal capacity and is:

1. a person involved in, and with, abstract, erudite ideas and theories;
2. a person whose profession (e.g. philosophy, literary criticism, sociology, law, political analysis, theoretical science, etc.) solely involves the production and dissemination of ideas; or
3. a person of notable cultural and artistic expertise whose knowledge grants him or her intellectual authority in public discourse.