Syed Hussein Alatas and the Problem and Intellectuals

How does Alatas conceptualize the concept of 'Intellectual'? The problem of intellectuals in the modern world is one of the most challenging questions in the context of social sciences and humanities. Alatas distinguishes between the role of intellectuals in the developing countries and developed societies. What are the assumptive foundations of Alatas's perspective on the role of intellectuals in developing societies? There are many non-eurocentric narratives on the role of intellectuals (e.g. Ali Shariati, Jalal Ale Ahmad, Edward Said and …) in the contemporary world but few have worked upon the perspective conceptualized by Syed Hussein Alatas in relation to the future of intellectuals as a modern species in the world, in general, and in the developing societies, in particular. In other words, in this chapter, we shall work on the concept of intellectual as understood by Alatas and try to find out the relevance of his approach in the present contexts of developing societies and also if this non-eurocentric breed could have any impact on the global state of affairs through his/her critical engagements.