If you Lie Down with Dogs, you Get up with Fleas

Nigerian Nobel prize winner Wole Soyinka reminds us, once again, that there is a difference between having an open mind, and letting your brains fall out, calling it a “cesspit” of extremism.

I can’t tell by his statement if part of this is transference of the developing world’s problems onto the UK as a former colonial power, or it he is being entirely direct, but it is nonetheless a sharp lesson for philosophers who don’t explore, or thinkers who leave too much to chance.

He added: “Its social logic is to allow all religions to preach openly. But this is illogic, because none of the other religions preach apocalyptic violence. And yet England allows it.

“Remember, that country was the breeding ground for communism, too. Karl Marx did all his work in libraries there."

Mr Soyinka said Britain took pride in its “openness” and added: "I doubt you can have the kind of indoctrination schools in America as you do in the UK…The Muslims there are open Muslims, whereas in Europe they tend to go into ghetto schools.”

His assertions is reflects rather badly on Britain, and he seems to be averring it it strongly enough that he seems rather emotional about the bath the philosophical path the most visible and influential in the UK has been on for the past century or more.