Intellectual humility is the secret sauce for critical thinking. Owning your intellectual limitations helps you learn more and think more objectively. In this post, I offer you 3 smart strategies to amplify your intellectual humility.
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What is Intellectual Humility?
Intellectual humility is an intellectual virtue. It's a habit of mind that comes from a desire to figure out what's true. It's being willing to admit that you don't know something. It's being willing to confess you have room to grow intellectually.
To understand intellectual humility it helps to contrast it with the vice of intellectual arrogance. People that are intellectually arrogant think they have all the answers. Or, at least, they pretend to have all the answers, whether or not they actually do. They don't ask questions. They cut you off in conversation. They stagnate intellectually.
Intellectual humility is crucial for critical thinking. The intellectually humble person is quick to ask questions. She seeks guidance. She's not afraid to admit that she's struggling to understand something. This allows her to think deeper. This allows her to think objectively. It allows her to overcome blind spots and gaps in her understanding.
Practice the 3 smart strategies below to amplify the habit of being intellectually humble.
Smart Strategy #1: Cultivate a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is a way of viewing learning and intelligence. It's a set of beliefs. These beliefs support the idea that through effort you can expand your intelligence. This mindset focuses on what you can control, namely your effort.
A person with a growth mindset embraces intellectual challenges. He views challenges as opportunities to learn something new. Instead of struggling to understand philosophy and saying, "I guess I'm no good at philosophy," a person with a growth mindset views this as an opportunity for intellectual improvement.
How do you cultivate a growth mindset?
To cultivate a growth mindset you need to become aware of your self-talk. You talk to yourself more than anyone else in life. Don't worry, I don't necessarily mean talking to yourself out loud, though I mean that too 🙂
Practice pro-growth self talk when you find yourself letting an intellectual challenge be an indictment on the limits of your intelligence. This self talk helps you own your intellectual limitations. You say to yourself something like, "Right now I'm struggling to understand Kant's Categorical Imperative, but that means I've got opportunity to learn more about what the heck Kant was saying." Congratulate yourself for spotting your blind spots. That's a win!
Thus, having a growth mindset helps you own your intellectual limitations. It helps you practice intellectual humility.
Smart Strategy #2: Model a Hero of Intellectual Humility
Model your approach to learning and thinking after a hero of intellectual humility. Think of that person when you're stuck. This will help you confess and overcome your intellectual limitations.
It's important to find a hero of intellectual humility. We often learn by imitation. Examples of intellectual arrogance are not hard to find. We're naturally influenced by their overconfidence rooted in fear. We need to counteract such influence. The way to do this is to model your approach to learning after a hero of intellectual humility.
How do you find a hero of intellectual humility? I found mine in graduate school. Philosopher Anthony (Tony) Brueckner was a model of intellectual humility. Tony would quickly point out when he was not clear about something...and he would do so in front of the class. He was motivated to seek truth and deep understanding. Yet he had great reason to boast in his intelligence and knowledge. He was a leading epistemologist. He published so often in a top peer-reviewed journal that people joked he had a "regular column" in the journal. His argumentation was penetrating. It would force people to rethink their whole theory. Yet, Tony did not boast. He was quick to confess when he was confused.
When I'm tempted to act intellectually arrogant I think to myself, "what would Tony say and do?" Then I picture him in front of a class admitting that he didn't understand the point at issue. This readiness to confess his lack of understanding led to brilliant insights in philosophy. It made him an amazing critical thinker.
A hero of intellectual humility can be found in history. If you find one, read their biography. You can find them in every day life as well. Just look for people constantly learning because they own their intellectual limitations. Then think of them when you're tempted to act like a know-it-all to compensate for your lack of understanding.
Smart Strategy #3: Become a Lover of Truth
In a time when fake news is rampant, it can be hard to know what's true. It can be hard to know whether you can trust what you read, even in reputable news outlets. This makes truth all the more important. It makes being motivated by a desire to seek truth an important thing.
Become a lover of truth to amplify your intellectual humility. If you desire truth above having your ego stroked, you will eat a little humble pie and admit when you don't know something. Truth is a precious good. You will secure that good even if it means admitting that you don't know something or you're confused.
To practice seeking truth you must grant yourself permission to create social tension. It's bound to happen. You're not trying to seek social lubrication at the expense of truth. So there's bound to be some friction. A situation will arise when seeking what's true will be socially inconvenient. You may follow a line of questioning that makes people uncomfortable because it challenges their assumptions. It may create cognitive dissonance in their minds.
A confession: As a recovering people pleaser and person that naturally seeks social harmony this can be hard for me. Maybe it's also hard for you. You don't want to make people feel bad or uncomfortable. If so, know you're not alone. Granting yourself permission to create social unease can free you to follow clues that lead to truth.
A word of caution: There are better or worse times to seek truth deeply. Being annoying or unloving in seeking truth is not helpful. It makes your willingness to admit your intellectual limitations look like ploys to convert people to your way of thinking. So exercise wisdom in deploying your love of truth.
Becoming a lover of truth helps you help others. You're trying to shape your thinking to what's really the case. Doing this to secure truth is worth it for its own sake. But a side benefit is that people will admire and respect you as a thinker. They will rely on you as a good source of information about particular topics. This allows you to help people more. It allows you to invest in making others better, not to mention making the world a little better place.
Conclusion
Practicing the 3 smart strategies above will help you to become a highly effective thinker. They will help you own your intellectual limitations and take your intellectual life to the next level.
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