Listening to others requires intellectual humility
By Richard Sima
The Washington Post
September 19, 2024
"No one knows everything. Recognizing this limitation and the potential fallibility of even our most deeply held beliefs is core to the concept of intellectual humility. 'It helps you overcome this very categorical, black-and-white thinking that we are often succumbing to,' said Igor Grossmann, professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo...
"'Intellectual humility is hard, because we want to be right, and we think we’re right,' said Tenelle Porter, an assistant professor of psychology at Rowan University...
"This can help you to think differently about the situation. 'You become less defensive, because it’s less about you versus them. It is a bit more about us,' Grossmann said...
"'Intellectual humility does not mean that everything is up for grabs, that there are no answers, that there is no truth, that there is no such thing as good evidence,' Porter said. Research has found that those with more intellectual humility are more likely to scrutinize evidence and less likely to fall for misinformation and unsupported conspiracy theories...
"Intellectual humility may also be key in our personal relationships, because it is associated with prosocial values such as empathy, perspective-taking and the willingness to listen to others. It may help us smooth over and forgive differences and is associated with a better mood and a sense of closeness even following an interpersonal conflict...
"In these polarized times, more intellectual humility overall may make conversations more fruitful and open if people take a step back and have the awareness that there may be something they haven’t considered, Porter said..."
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