Monday, February 11, 2019

Intellectual Humility

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/1/4/17989224/intellectual-humility-explained-psychology-replication?utm_campaign=vox&utm_content=entry&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR11Zv5WglEUxaHmGRvHPtB-iCSIuhH16Yt5YiR9QwxkpchP6ZSUs68pZdM

Really interesting read, and very relevant to our times. Here's some highlights I felt were helpful:

“NOT KNOWING THE SCOPE OF YOUR OWN IGNORANCE IS PART OF THE HUMAN CONDITION”

  1. In order for us to acquire more intellectual humility, we all, even the smartest among us, need to better appreciate our cognitive blind spots. Our minds are more imperfect and imprecise than we’d often like to admit. Our ignorance can be invisible.
  2. Even when we overcome that immense challenge and figure out our errors, we need to remember we won’t necessarily be punished for saying, “I was wrong.” And we need to be braver about saying it. We need a culture that celebrates those words.
  3. We’ll never achieve perfect intellectual humility. So we need to choose our convictions thoughtfully.


Are You Intellectually Humble? Questions for Personal Reflection

  1. Even when you feel strongly about something, are you still aware that you could be wrong?
  2. Do you trust that truth has nothing to fear from investigation?
  3. When someone disagrees with your beliefs, do you view it as a personal attack? If so, why?
  4. Think of a recent time you became defensive when someone disagreed with you. What may have been underlying your feelings in that moment?
  5. Do you reserve the right to change your mind? Or do you feel weak or ashamed to change a strongly held opinion?
  6. Is it difficult to respect people whose beliefs differ from your own?
  7. What is a specific step you can take to better understand someone who disagrees with you on an important issue?
  8. Do you feel insecure when others disagree with you?
  9. Do you feel like you need to hide past errors in your thinking?
  10. What would it take for you to feel more comfortable acknowledging to others when you’ve been wrong in your thinking?
  11. Do you feel less worthy when you realize you’ve made a mistake in your thinking?
  12. Do you approach others with the idea that you might have something to learn from them?
  13. Are you open to learning new things every day? Even if it means changing previous ideas?