The Idea

Ya know, just because my ideas and beliefs might not be the same as yours, at least prove me one way or another and then at least explain your motives- not to me, but for your own peace of mind. We all have been brought up with other people's influences, but the real test of a person's character is being able to stand on foundational truths, not accepted facts considered sane or "the norm." There are things that can truly only be proven by our own senses and experiences. The rest, well....that requires faith. 

Do you have faith? Do you have what it takes to "prove all things...?"

At the end of the day, you might end up saying to me, "You just might be on to something...." 

Do you see turrets outside your office? Are your external walls covered with ivy? Does your building resemble a medieval castle? No? Then why do we call it "the ivory tower"?

While the term dates back to the first century BC, it is still used in this century. The term connotes distance. Academics in the "ivory tower" do not care about the reality of the world; they are aloof to the concerns of the every day.

What did the term mean originally? And how has it evolved to the metaphor of today? When did academics mount this ivory tower?

The earliest reference to the ivory tower is to aloofness and distance from the mainstream of society. In 60 BC, Lucretius, in De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things) wrote:

"But this is the greatest joy of all: to stand aloof in a quiet citadel, stoutly fortified by the teaching of the wise."

According to John Gay of Washington State University, "In some languages, particularly French, the words that translate to ‘quiet citadel' in English are translated to words that subsequently translate to ‘ivory tower'" .

Even earlier, the Song of Solomon in the Bible made reference to an ivory tower:

"Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus" (Song of Solomon 7:4, KJV).

But the most frequently noted origin of the phrase is by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve in reference not to academic life, but to that of the French poet, Alfred deVigny, who was said to have shut himself in an ivory tower.

Some suggest that Sainte-Beuve referred not to deVigny's isolation, but to the ivory towers of fairy tales of the 18th century. In both, according to Gary Wheeler, there is reference to "a place of nearly untouched and unreachable beauty and loftiness—or more perversely if commonly read as, out of reach and out of touch, and a place where no real person dare go" (Wheeler).

Academics, like poets, are said to escape from the real world. That escape is perhaps what Sainte-Beuve recognized. Carol Buckley put forth an interesting analysis.

"Maybe Sainte-Beuve was the first to recognize that Academe, proposed to be the best place to prepare for the real world, was actually the ideal place to escape from the real world. Poor handwriting could easily be responsible for a misprint, changing ‘tour d'ironie' to ‘tour d'ivoire'!" (Buckley).

The symbolism of the ivory tower comes from Sainte-Beuve's 1837 poem, where there is ". . . a coming together of two streams of symbolism: the refuge, the retreat, the self—ideas attached to the tower; and the inaccessibility, the dreaminess, the sense of unreality attached to the symbolism of ivory" (Lee).

In Sainte-Beuve's time, and throughout the centuries, there was an idyllic, dreamy component to this ivory tower. Poets and others went to the tower to contemplate, to ponder the problems of the world.

But the tower was invaded.

Academics and others began to mount the tower. In Heavens to Betsy and Other Curious Sayings, Charles Funk reports that "the ivory tower is still a sanctum, but whether secluded or not it is now a remote observation post that is open to philosophers, various writers, an occasional editor, and others who may, as from a place of vantage, watch the world go by" (Funk, 69).

Sally Kuhlenschmidt of Western Kentucky University suggests that the evolution of the modern usage of "ivory tower" has gone from neutral to negative as the "outsider's" view of the academy has become more suspicious. "The dictionary . . . seems neutral about the phrase in terms of social acceptability. A 1964 dictionary gave it as a ‘place of seclusion; retreat.' In a 1974 dictionary a certain negativity creeps in: ‘an impractical lack of concern with urgent problems.' The 1993 definition is even more negative: ‘1. Marked by failure or refusal to face or cope with reality and practical matters. 2. preoccupied with what is wholly or nearly wholly speculative or theoretical or abstract or esoteric'" (Kuhlenschmidt).

While the original tenant of the tower was contemplative, guarding the public safety, the current occupant is seen as refusing to face reality.

Others suggest a more modern usage of the term. Morton Hoffman from Boston University looks at both the negative and positive aspects of the term when he suggests: "Academics living in the ‘ivory tower' are above the dirt and mess on the ground. Someone in an ivory tower has pure thoughts unsullied by the realities of life. Also, since ivory was (and is) a fairly valuable material, the tower has more value than one made out of stone, at least for the person therein. However, ivory, unlike stone, is not a very good construction material; an ivory tower is apt to crumble if too much stress is applied from the real world, much to the chagrin of the occupant. That's the part we in academia experience all the time" (Hoffman).

The term "ivory tower" is popularly accepted as delineating the aloofness of not only academics, but occasionally others as well. It made reference to lovers in the 1950s, when Patti Page sang "Come down, come down from your ivory tower."

While probably not in response to Page's plea, academics have largely stepped down from the ivory tower. Today's involvement in service learning, community service, and community engagement takes academics from the tower to the town.

But there will always be the memory—and the allure—of the ivory tower, beckoning academics to return to contemplation.

2 Cor 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.