scholarly journals Exploring the introductory physics classroom through the lens of intellectual humility: Handling what you do not know

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Sundstrom ◽  
Fabiana Cardetti
Keyword(s):  
Introductory Physics ◽  
Intellectual Humility

Imaginings

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Kelly James Clark
Keyword(s):  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
First Order ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Group Violence ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe

In Branden Thornhill-Miller and Peter Millican’s challenging and provocative essay, we hear a considerably longer, more scholarly and less melodic rendition of John Lennon’s catchy tune—without religion, or at least without first-order supernaturalisms (the kinds of religion we find in the world), there’d be significantly less intra-group violence. First-order supernaturalist beliefs, as defined by Thornhill-Miller and Peter Millican (hereafter M&M), are “beliefs that claim unique authority for some particular religious tradition in preference to all others” (3). According to M&M, first-order supernaturalist beliefs are exclusivist, dogmatic, empirically unsupported, and irrational. Moreover, again according to M&M, we have perfectly natural explanations of the causes that underlie such beliefs (they seem to conceive of such natural explanations as debunking explanations). They then make a case for second-order supernaturalism, “which maintains that the universe in general, and the religious sensitivities of humanity in particular, have been formed by supernatural powers working through natural processes” (3). Second-order supernaturalism is a kind of theism, more closely akin to deism than, say, Christianity or Buddhism. It is, as such, universal (according to contemporary psychology of religion), empirically supported (according to philosophy in the form of the Fine-Tuning Argument), and beneficial (and so justified pragmatically). With respect to its pragmatic value, second-order supernaturalism, according to M&M, gets the good(s) of religion (cooperation, trust, etc) without its bad(s) (conflict and violence). Second-order supernaturalism is thus rational (and possibly true) and inconducive to violence. In this paper, I will examine just one small but important part of M&M’s argument: the claim that (first-order) religion is a primary motivator of violence and that its elimination would eliminate or curtail a great deal of violence in the world. Imagine, they say, no religion, too.Janusz Salamon offers a friendly extension or clarification of M&M’s second-order theism, one that I think, with emendations, has promise. He argues that the core of first-order religions, the belief that Ultimate Reality is the Ultimate Good (agatheism), is rational (agreeing that their particular claims are not) and, if widely conceded and endorsed by adherents of first-order religions, would reduce conflict in the world.While I favor the virtue of intellectual humility endorsed in both papers, I will argue contra M&M that (a) belief in first-order religion is not a primary motivator of conflict and violence (and so eliminating first-order religion won’t reduce violence). Second, partly contra Salamon, who I think is half right (but not half wrong), I will argue that (b) the religious resources for compassion can and should come from within both the particular (often exclusivist) and the universal (agatheistic) aspects of religious beliefs. Finally, I will argue that (c) both are guilty, as I am, of the philosopher’s obsession with belief. 

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Foley
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Cartesian Circle

This chapter makes a plea both for intellectual humility, which cautions against overconfidence in one’s opinions, and for deference to experts when one is not well positioned to reach an opinion on one’s own. The chapter also discusses how Descartes’s efforts to find a method that would inoculate inquirers against error encountered problems with the Cartesian Circle. The chapter concludes that intellectual humility and openness to new ideas are appropriate even for those who have immense expertise in their fields. All the more so, they are the appropriate attitudes for nonexperts to have; and since no one has expertise in all fields, they are the attitudes that specialists in one field should have when considering issues in other fields. The chapter concludes by pointing out, in particular, they are the attitudes those in the humanities ought to have toward work in the sciences, and vice versa.

Intellectual Humility and the Practices of Faith

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter examines the practices with which intellectual humility is enmeshed in the Christian life: patience and gratitude, which are both manifested in prayer. The discussion recognizes that intellectual humility does not function in isolation, as a virtue in its own right, but is expressed through, and fed by, other practices within the life of faith, as the minds of believers are rightly ordered with respect to God. Patience and gratitude are not represented within the New Testament simply as dispositions, but as deliberate volitional activities, by which the lordship and the goodness of God are acknowledged and behaviours modified accordingly. The chapter traces the key ways in which faithful servants are represented as ‘waiting upon God’ and giving thanks to him, and considers the ways that that these practices are represented as bearing on the epistemic and volitional characteristics of those servants.

The New Testament and Intellectual Humility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Sacrificial Love ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

Orienting to Otherness: Intellectual Humility, Moral Foundations, and Mature Alterity Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110116
Author(s):  
David R. Paine ◽  
Steven J. Sandage ◽  
Joshua N. Hook ◽  
Don E. Davis ◽  
Kathryn A. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Helping Professions ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Seminary Students ◽  
Positive Attitudes

Scholars and practitioners have increasingly called for the development of social justice commitment, intercultural competence, and appreciation of diversity among ministers and helping professionals. In religious contexts, individual factors may contribute to differences in the degree to which spiritual leaders emphasize intercultural and social justice initiatives. Personality factors, such as virtues and specific moral commitments, predict the degree to which people report positive attitudes and demonstrate mature alterity. In this study, we explored the degree to which intellectual humility predicted mature alterity outcomes after controlling for the effects of five moral foundations (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, purity) in a sample of Christian seminary students in the United States. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed for ministry and the helping professions.

Scientific Inquiry in Introductory Physics

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Carl J. Wenning ◽  
Rebecca E. Vieyra
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Introductory Physics
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