12 Step programs have a saying, "Keep my side of the street clean." It's one of the phrases that sticks in my head when I'm making up stories about someone in my head or gossiping. It helps me reorient to reality.
Intellectual honesty is also an incredible asset for your own internal branding and advancement. If you have the ability - the strength - to say to one or more colleagues “I was wrong on this and you were right” you’ll pick up yardage.
One of the hardest parts of my own professional growth journey has been letting go of losing arguments. Someone said “hold on tightly, let go lightly”, and I think that’s apt for debate and collegial positioning. And that’s made easier when you have a brand and reputation for intellectual honesty. “Oh man did I fight you on XYZ, and I still think my way would’ve worked, but y’all killed it on this project. Well done and I look forward to the next thing.”
Yes! I would just call this "being honest with yourself" (I don't see it as specific to intellect). It may take therapy to get a person in shape to do this, but without it, as you say, people can't really contribute effectively to teams, family, etc. and are just more likely to make things difficult.
Your last section on finding out if you are intellectually honest reminds me of the FLOATER method for evaluating claims:
Falsifiable
Logic
Objective
Alternative explanations
Tentative conclusion
Evidence
Replicate
If someone claims they saw a unicorn, ask yourself:
Is it Falsifiable
Were there any Logic fallacies?
Are they being Objective?
Are there Alternative explanations?
Is this a Tentative conclusion?
Is the Evidence reliable?
Can you Replicate the results?
I looooved this so much! This is one of my highest values and I appreciate the friends and colleagues who keep me honest!
12 Step programs have a saying, "Keep my side of the street clean." It's one of the phrases that sticks in my head when I'm making up stories about someone in my head or gossiping. It helps me reorient to reality.
Intellectual honesty is also an incredible asset for your own internal branding and advancement. If you have the ability - the strength - to say to one or more colleagues “I was wrong on this and you were right” you’ll pick up yardage.
One of the hardest parts of my own professional growth journey has been letting go of losing arguments. Someone said “hold on tightly, let go lightly”, and I think that’s apt for debate and collegial positioning. And that’s made easier when you have a brand and reputation for intellectual honesty. “Oh man did I fight you on XYZ, and I still think my way would’ve worked, but y’all killed it on this project. Well done and I look forward to the next thing.”
Yes! I would just call this "being honest with yourself" (I don't see it as specific to intellect). It may take therapy to get a person in shape to do this, but without it, as you say, people can't really contribute effectively to teams, family, etc. and are just more likely to make things difficult.