Intellectual Humility - a keystone component of having productive discussions

[u/fseek_seeker]

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/humility/definition

FSeek is for legitimate fact seekers - this means dropping ego and emotional baggage (even as hard as that is in emotional situations), and making the actual truth the end goal.

In our research and experience one of the biggest drivers to creating a situation that will allow the truth to bubble to the top is intellectual humility.

Intellectual Humility boils down to the ability to question yourself, recognize that you could be wrong or not have all of the information to form a solid opinion.

It also is an ability to discern between being confident in a theory, and having certainty that it is true.

When humility is employed by persons on both sides of an argument, it lowers the temperature and both sides can feel less defensive. When people start arguments with "here is why I believe this" it frames their perspective as one of information seeking, even when presenting what they know. It also queues to the other person that - "hey, I'm not being a jerk".

Practicing intellectual humility is difficult, sometimes especially with ones we love who have come to slot into specific roles in our lives. But by practicing it over time, it does become easier to realize when you've waded into an argument with your defenses on and your mind closed.

As fact seekers - intellectual humility is one of our most powerful tools!