In your syllabus, I urged you to consider the intellectual virtue of humility. Because we discuss difficult and sensitive topics, many of which are informed by our own upbringing, you are asked to use your moral imagination, compassion, respect for others, as well as humility (not assuming that your point of view or conclusion is always right) when discussing in class and blogging.
How are you doing with this intellectual virtue? Is it developing for you? Explain. Reflect on the importance of intellectual humility
* in this class
* in other collegiate courses
* in your general life
Related to intellectual humility and Aristotle's virtue ethics, is this essay about ethical decision-making (referencing the Penn State sex scandal)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/11/10/essay-why-smart-people-make-foolish-ethical-choices#.TrwBAgPFyKU.email
I think that this is a virtue that has to be developed. At first, in this class and in other classes I have taken, I almost took offense to others opinions. Now, I truly feel like I've learned to listen. This doesn't mean that I no longer have strong opinion of my own, but that I have respect for the fact that others have experiences that have shaped them in such a way that gives them a different view on subjects. I feel like I get the most out of listening to others rationalize their views, not only does it help me strengthen my rationalization for my beliefs, but it helps me learn about others.
ReplyDeleteI am much like Christie on this topic. I, too, used to take offense by others’ opinions. I did not always consider the experiences that other people have been through to form those opinions. I had a clear cut way of looking at things in black and white but now I see that more grey exists than I could have ever imagined. I have certainly developed a better sense of humility with this class but I know I still have much room for improvement. I still have strong opinions of my own and sometimes I have a difficult time backing down from defending my beliefs. In other classes, I feel I do not lack humility because I know I am not the smartest by any means and I have so much to learn about biology, physics, chemistry, etc. In general there are definitely times where my confidence overpowers my humility or vice versa. Having the right level of humility leads to great things though and you find that you learn more by knowing that you don’t know everything.
ReplyDeletePersonally I feel that I still have work to do. I try my best to see other's opinions and respect those opinions but at the end of the day I still can't help but believe my answer is correct. I mentally understand that every opinion has it's rights and wrongs and so I strive to justify my own opinions but at times I still find that I believe something despite that I have no sound reasoning to back it up. However, this class has helped me in many ways, even though I still believe many of the same things I can now justify and better understand why I believe them. I can now rationalize my opinions in other classes and to other people even though I still sometimes get lost in justifying my reasoning.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that intellectual humility is something that needs to be developed over one's entire lifespan. It is also something that needs to be practiced throughout one's entire life. I think I am pretty good about listening to other's opinions and not saying anything disrespectful. I often think in my head badly of their opinions. So for me personally, I need to work on accepting their views in my head and not thinking poorly of the person. I can be shy and I am not confrontational so I don't usually tell people when I think their opinions are wrong. I may say i disagree, but I won't criticize or be mean to them. I think intellectual humility is very important because there are time in which one can think they are right but they are really wrong. If someone doesn't have intellectual humility then they wouldn't listen to others and learn that they are wrong. I think that intellectual humility is important in every college class and in all aspects of life too. Without it, we wouldn't have the ability to learn.
ReplyDeleteLike many others have stated on the blog, Intellectual Humility is a virtue that is needed not only in collegiate life, but in every aspect of life outside of school. Throughout my life, I have been taught in subtle ways by my parents and then my high school that life is a very different experience for every person. As such, each individual has their own way of looking at the world and at moral dilemmas. From these years of learning (and as I continue to learn), I now know that it is my job to listen and not to criticize. I try to only give my opinion when it is asked, and sometimes I still find it hard not to interject my opinion. I need to work at, like Sadie said, not criticizing others in my head while they give their views on an issue. When I do this, I miss the opportunity to understand their opinion, and ultimately, the chance to learn. I guess that, at the end of the day, I have to understand that my opinion is just that, an opinion. I am learning to see that there are few issues that have one right approach/viewpoint, and that there are multiple shades of grey between wrong and right.
ReplyDeleteLike many others in the class, I too feel like my intellectual humility has developed more in this class than in others and will continue to develop throughout my life. As I was growing up my mom has always told me to consider everyone's point of view because they may have experienced life in a different way that we may not know about. I have always have had my own opinion on things, but I have learned not to get defensive about things, but instead listen to the other person. As I have listened to others speak in class, their opinions have got me thinking about my own. So sometimes having humility is a good thing because it gets you thinking on why you have a belief for something, sometimes this will help strengthen your belief or maybe it will show you another side to an idea and your belief might end up changing. It's always good to listen because we get to see where another person comes from and everyone should be entitled to their own opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhile i feel like I am parroting what everyone else has said, I too started off in this class taking offense and not liking some of the people that voiced their opinion. However I have found that sometimes my opinion changes when other people talk.Sometimes I am able to look at my opinion and realize that I dont really agree with it. Intellectual Humility is a good thing because of this. It has gotten me to think for myself and look at some of the opinions I held just because my family held them. In my life, my little brother really needs to learn some intellectual humility because he refuses to listen to other peoples opinions. Alot of times I feel that this is a detriment to him because he misses the chance to possibly learn something or form a different idea.All in all I feel that I have grown personally in the area of intellectual humility.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone has said so far. I have a lot of respect for everyone in the class because I know how hard it is to put an argument out there knowing that it is going to be challenged and debated. I feel that intellectual humility has been a tool for this class that everyone has been eager to develop. We have discussed some serious topics such as euthanasia that have a wide span of strong opinions. It is only through intellectual humility that we can put our biases aside and accept opinions of others. I am not a nursing major, but I can tell that it is also going to be a tool needed in their profession to have a solid patient-caregiver relationship. Even outside professional boundaries it is important to have a clear understanding and sympathy for the arguments of others. Philosophy as an academic discipline needs intellectual humility for there to be any progress of ideas. Through the study of philosophy I can see my humility being developed due to seeing the example in others. Sometimes it takes that one person to step back and see the situation objectively for everyone else to see how partisan a conversation has become. I hope my intellectual humility keeps developing so that I can be that example for others and live a life of understanding and compassion.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my life I have always been strongly opinionated, much like other people who have blogged about this. When I was younger and even my early teenage years my way of thinking has always been I am right and you are wrong. This has applied to arguments with friends, my parents, sometimes teachers and coaches. Now that I am a bit older I listen to their arguments and at least figure out the reasoning behind it before I jump down their throats or tune them out. Being humble is hard for me and for other guys I know because when we are younger our role models are usually sports figures (at least for me) and it doesn’t help seeing these figures to touchdown dances or calling out people other players in the media, etc. So when I was younger I thought it was a way of life to be arrogant and to celebrate and to throw it in the face of others. Now that my role models have changed a bit from when I was younger I am noticing that it is much easier to be humble and to be chivalrous. If you told me 10 years ago that I would be holding doors open for people and congratulating someone on beating me I would have laughed. So for me, humility takes time and is a never ending process.
ReplyDeleteIn our class it seems for the most part intellectual Humility is going over pretty well. At least on the outside nobody seems to be taking offense to the points that are being expressed, but there does seems to be a clear divide between the class. There seems to be a nursing major side and everybody else. This skews viewpoints a bit and because of their curriculum they have the chance to experience first hand the experiences that are being talked about in class. Perhaps it is the nature of the class but it may be more difficult for those that are taking this class as a core requirement.
ReplyDeleteIntellectual Humility is expressed clearly in this class for hte mere fact that even though we brush upon topics that are very touchy usually, we all are able to repsect each other's opionions and understand that to each his own of opinions. I believe that this class is a great aide to me personally as a nursing major for it reinforces some of the topics we discuss in our classes, as well as makes me re-evaluate my view points on death and how it should/is viewed through ultiple different points. I feel like the class has aided me overall in my process of being a more well-roudned student for I was able to re-evaluate myself as I have mentioned multiple times in this post already, but I also like to state that it is able to make me become a more understanding individual of death processes as others perceive it and will help me to understand where some of my family members are coming from when they refuse to discuss death or how people are not afraid of deat and take any risk for they are welcoming to the idea of an afterlife.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christy on how she sees humility. This class has taught me a lot about myself and to have patience. I have also learned to understand and listen to others views. I have never been a person who has to be right but I do like to state my opinion and for others to listen and not get defensive. Humility takes time to develop and learn and will take much practice. It is easy to just think you are always right but that will not get you very far in life. It takes humility to be able to get farther and have the best life experience. This class has helped me learn to respect others opinions and have opened my eyes to opinions i had never even thought of before. It is important to have that type of open mind to be able to make your own decisions. I hope that I will keep progressing and developing humility as I have been in this class and use it toward my future goals.
ReplyDeleteThis class has taught me a lot about myself and how my outlook on things can affect a situation. I also have learned that by listening to others and trying understand their points of view that I can help to further evaluate and form my views by taking into account opposing information. It takes time to develop humility and that can get you far in life, by respecting yourself and others views. I have learned that it is super important to keep an open and clear mind, when considering such serious topics such as death and PAS and suicide. This class has helped me learn about my social responsibility to others, my place in this world, and most importantly the meaning of life. With a better sense of this knowledge I can help others and make a difference in their lives and mine own.
ReplyDeleteI agree that humility is a virtue that most are not born with and have to learn. I think that many of us take offense to strong opinions against our own. Being humble though is very important because it makes us aware of our own defects so that we do not only look for the defects others possess. I don't think this means that we shouldn't be confident though. People should still have pride in what they do and be confident in their abilities. But we should not be overly proud. I think that this is important in any walk of life. This class has helped me with this virtue, as it has others. I have learned to listen to others and take in their opinion to better understand my own. I have been able to see the faults in my arguments and also how to improve them.
ReplyDeleteThis has definitely helped me both in other classes at school and outside of college. Not only have I learned to articulate myself and accept the opinions of others there as well but I do not feel a continual need to prove myself. I have confidence in my abilities and am more able to let my actions speak for themselves. It is important for everyone, now and in their future, to not be overly confident and think that they know more than everyone else and humility keeps you open to new ideas and learning, which can only help you improve. Learning this virtue has also helped me to realize that I cannot accomplish everything by myself and sometimes need to ask for help. This is a quality that relates to every part of life. In general being humble has helped me get along even better with other people and improve the relationships I have with them.
Humility may be the biggest thing I have gained from this class. Generally, I was always the one person that was too stubborn to budge with my own beliefs or opinions. However, after being involved in a classroom of my peers where difference in opinion is prevalent I realized that my own views are not quite as common as I had thought. Seeing my peers provide differing views with solid reasoning behind them helped me gain a better respect for opinions other than my own. In fact, by the end of this class, I found that I was even able to change some of my own beliefs based on some of the evidence that classmates presented towards some discussions. I value my newly gained sense of humility because I know it will carry me through life in my future endeavors. As I work toward becoming a doctor, my humility will allow me to keep an open mind with both my patients and co-workers which in turn establishes better relationships with these people. The better one can accept another person's beliefs, the easier it is to understand them and work with them.
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