Just quibbling about one particular word, not the whole point in general:
I think there's a special pejorative connotation to "clever" that isn't there for "smart", "intelligent", "intellectual" (that's not to say that the other words don't have their own specific negative connotations) and other words that imply effective use of the brain. At least the way some people use it.
The first specific negative, I think, is where "clever" is used to mean something like "cunning" - with the implication that it's all being used in a rather self-serving and slightly underhand way. Sophistry needs to be clever if it's going to work against non-stupid targets. The second negative is where the cleverness is being used in a conspicuous way; doing something complicated to show off rather than doing something simple that actually works/gets to the truth.
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I think there's a special pejorative connotation to "clever" that isn't there for "smart", "intelligent", "intellectual" (that's not to say that the other words don't have their own specific negative connotations) and other words that imply effective use of the brain. At least the way some people use it.
The first specific negative, I think, is where "clever" is used to mean something like "cunning" - with the implication that it's all being used in a rather self-serving and slightly underhand way. Sophistry needs to be clever if it's going to work against non-stupid targets. The second negative is where the cleverness is being used in a conspicuous way; doing something complicated to show off rather than doing something simple that actually works/gets to the truth.