A philosopher’s argument against the cult of achievement | Zena Hitz: Full Interview
July 10, 2026
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48:59Now PlayingA philosopher’s argument against the cult of achievement | Zena Hitz: Full Interview
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A philosopher who walked away from an elite academic career to spend 3 years washing dishes in a monastery says that intellectual life has nothing to do with degrees.
Zena Hitz argues that the real philosophers are taxi drivers, office clerks, prisoners: Everyday people who exist outside the cult of academia.
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About Zena Hitz:
Zena Hitz is a Tutor at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland and the author of "Lost In Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life." She has a PhD in ancient philosophy from Princeton University and studies and teaches across the liberal arts.
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