Intellectual Humility: The Benefits of Being Open-Minded and Tolerant

Update Your Beliefs in Light of New Evidence.

Illustration by the Author.

“We need to enter the conversation willing to be wrong, willing to admit the limits of our own knowledge, willing to reconsider our evidence, sources, and premises. That is self-skepticism.” —Patricia Roberts-Miller

Who likes to admit that they are wrong? Few people, myself included. 

We naturally tend to hold on to our beliefs and opinions, even when they are wrong.

This is called confirmation bias, leading us to selectively search for evidence that supports our views while ignoring evidence that contradicts them.

The feeling of knowing something is called conviction. It feels good to be correct and have strong convictions.

Unfortunately, conviction often leads to close-mindedness.

We become less tolerant of different opinions and less willing to consider new evidence. This is the danger of epistemic vice.

We all have confirmation bias to some extent.

It’s part of human nature.

But it’s crucial to try to overcome it. 

Why?

Because if we don’t, we risk becoming c…