The criticism of the scholar sheltered in her ivory tower and ignoring the real world is tenacious. Thus, she is often accused of holding herself aloof from the problems of society, making her work irrelevant and socially insignificant. Is this true for academics in international law? Is it not the case that, unlike “the preacher and the philosopher [who] defend postulates which are beyond realization in practice … the international jurist must not walk in the clouds; he must remain on the ground of what is realizable and tangible”?

The first traces of this division between “the men of thought” and “the men of action” can be found in Ancient Greece, where vita contemplativa was opposed to vita activa. Vita contemplativa represented a quest for happiness based on the renunciation of the vanities of human affairs such as wealth or honor. It necessarily involved a withdrawal from human activities. Vita activa, for its part, was a diametrically opposed model of existence, whose happiness was based on the pursuit of pleasure and honor.