Jason Baehr, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University and co-founder of the Intellectual Virtues Academy, explores the nature and value of curiosity on the IVA blog. Read the full post here.

Co-founder and board member of the Intellectual Virtues Academy Steve Porter discusses what’s challenging and beneficial about intellectual character education on the IVA blog. Read the full post.

The idea that intellectual virtues like curiosity, intellectual humility, and open-mindedness are important to learning is clear enough. But are they also important to having a successful career? There is mounting evidence to think they are. It’s well known that employers today are looking for candidates with so-called “soft skills” or “non-cognitive skills.” These skills include intellectual virtues like curiosity and open-mindedness. A similar picture is suggested by two recent columns in the New York Times. In “How to Get a Job at Google,” Thomas Friedman shares excerpts from his interview with the person who oversees hiring at Google. Among five core attributes the company looks for when hiring is “intellectual humility.” Not just generic humility, but intellectual humility. In “Mental Virtues,” David Brooks catalogues the virtues you need “if you are just an information age office jockey, alone with a memo or your computer.” He discusses virtues like intellectual courage, firmness, humility, and autonomy. The emerging picture is that success in the work place depends on having good character as a thinker and a learner, that is, on possessing intellectual virtues.  — Jason Baehr

“From a cognitive standpoint, early adolescence brings new opportunities for asking thoughtful questions, engaging in complex reasoning, and cultivating the other skills and qualities necessary for critical thinking. Regrettably, these opportunities can go unrealized on account of strong social and psychological forces that work against intellectual engagement and risk-taking.”

In this essay, site administrator and Loyola Marymount University professor Jason Baehr discusses the importance of intellectual virtues in a middle school educational setting.

Read the full essay here.

In this essay, UC Davis researcher Tenelle Porter discusses some of her recent research establishing a connection between intellectual humility and academic achievement.

Read the full essay here.

“The problem with conspiracy theorists is not, as the US legal scholar Cass Sunstein argues, that they have little relevant information. The key to what they end up believing is how they interpret and respond to the vast quantities of relevant information at their disposal. I want to suggest that this is fundamentally a question of the way they are. Oliver isn’t mad (or at least, he needn’t be). Nevertheless, his beliefs about 9/11 are the result of the peculiarities of his intellectual constitution – in a word, of his intellectual character.”

Read more from philosopher Quassim Cassam here.

“On honest reflection, it is hard not to believe that many of the issues debated in a public context are far more complicated than the prevailing positions or arguments let on. Humility can play a role in chipping away at this rhetoric. While this may complicate the terms of the debate, it is also likely to steer it in a more truthful direction.”

In this contribution to Big Questions Online, site administrator and Loyola Marymount University professor Jason Baehr examines how humility functions as a moral, intellectual, and civic strength.

Read the full article

In today’s edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, the lead story is on efforts being made by colleges and universities to gauge the “non-cognitive skills” of applicants. “Non-cognitive skills” is another term for intellectual virtues. They include traits like curiosity, intellectual perseverance, and grit. Read full article here.