Wakefulness of Mind

I saw a little something from Philip Pullman, author of the "His Dark Materials" series (and who I would usually not really give much of a care about), that caught my attention. In a speech to the Convention of Modern Liberty (whatever that's about), he talks about what he calls "wakefulness of mind:"

"Another virtue that a nation needs is intellectual curiousity. Wakefulness of mind, one might put it. A nation with that quality would be aware of itself, conscious of itself and its history, and every separate thread that makes up the tapestry of its culture...

"A nation where this virtue was strong, would be active and enquiring of mind, quick to perceive and compare and consider. Such a nation would know at once when a government tried to interfere with its freedoms. It would remember how all those freedoms had been gained, because each one would have a story attached to it, and an attack on any of them would feel like a personal affront. That is the value of wakefulness."

Isn't that a rather nice articulation of what it means to be a thinking person? For those of us who have a strong sense of context, it just sets our geek-o-meters a buzzin'.

The term "Wakefulness of Mind" is also pretty good on its own. It does a little more than "intellectual curiosity." "Curiosity" implies that what you are considering is trivial, optional. "Wakefulness" implies that thinking about something on a deeper level is essential to your very consciousness. What a nice way of putting it.

Tip 'o the hat to the fabulously nerdy Lisa Gold: Research Maven blog, from which I pulled (and pared down) the excerpt.