"Crude Thoughts"

In the introduction to Illuminations, Arendt writes about Benjamin's relationship to Brecht and discusses the way that these men valued "crude thinking." This thinking is contrasted with the subtleties of dialectical thinking, and is linked more closely to "reality." It is interesting to note that they valued crude thinking because it tended towards action. Dewey even wrote of the rift between theory and practice, sighting this as one thing to overcome in order for a public to pull itself together. Further, Benjamin valued crude thinking as "proverbial and idiomatic speech," and I hope this spirit is reflected in the above portrait.