Disarming Intelligence

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By Zakir Paul *15

Published March 24, 2025

Intelligence became a focal point in psychology, philosophy, and literature in the late 19th century. In Disarming Intelligence (Princeton University Press), Paul studies how individuals like Marcel Proust, Henri Bergson, and Paul Valéry subtly challenge its definitions, ultimately seeing it as both an individual and collective force. With reflections on World War I, interwar tensions, and modern-day artificial intelligence, Paul reveals intelligence to be a still fluid and contested concept. 

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The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
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