How to cultivate intellectual humility
What's intellectual humility? Sometimes we think our perspective is best. And that we hold absolute truth. Sometimes we even think we're experts. No one knows more than us. Or that we know more than others.
Whether owing to years of experience, dedication to a subject, or “because it is that way” (as many assert), we leave no question. We are trapped by our beliefs. As if we won the international expert award. Like any objection to us seemed ludicrous.
We occasionally hold onto the idea that we know everything about a topic, which is unexpected. Maybe not. Perhaps we prefer to navigate the ocean of indecision. Be open to what others can say. The absence of intellectual humility in others and ourselves is often noticeable. Continue.
We often overestimate our knowledge. We hold onto our beliefs and reject others'. We see an attack, not an enriching opportunity. We generally believe we are superior. This is particularly evident in political, religious, and lifestyle contexts.
Ryszard Kapuściński, a journalist and writer, warned that mindlessly pursuing one truth can lead to fanaticism and deception. He was right. Enslaving oneself to a belief and granting it absolute truth hampers change. And hinders personal and societal growth. It restricts us.
In this setting, scientists may have discovered intellectual humility, or its antidote. Flexibility in knowledge. It means being open to fresh ideas.
Intellectual humility is the willingness to listen to others, admit mistakes, and keep an open mind.
Origins of intellectual humility
Despite its seeming novelty, this idea originated with Socrates and Nicholas of Cusa.
Plato's Dialogues show how Socrates sought the truth and used his ignorance to find it. One of his most famous sayings is “All I know is that I know nothing.”
Nicholas of Cusa's De la docte ignorance shows his intellectual humility.
No matter how much they want absolute knowledge, the philosopher felt that human or cognitive limits prevent intelligent people from achieving it. Therefore, he knows he knows only what he knows.
However, he is educated and aware, hence his taught ignorance.
Intellectual humility is a long-standing concept. This capacity lies between the notion that we know everything and the belief that we know nothing, or between intellectual arrogance, characterised by rigid minds, and intellectual cowardice, resulting from severe timidity.
Having access to any information with a click gives the impression that we know everything. The impression that we have learned something will be stronger if we can easily recall a picture, term, or topic.
However, mental rigidity is directly linked to intellectual egocentrism. It is the inclination to reject other perspectives to fit one's own thinking habits. That individual would try to change the world to fit their beliefs.
An excessive urge for cognitive closure—the desire to eliminate all uncertainty from an idea or situation—causes mental rigidity since it implies losing control. Remember that ambiguity is one of humanity's biggest adversaries...