• Richard Paul and Linda Elder of The Critical Thinking Foundation identifies the following eight intellectual traits: 

     

    Intellectual Traits


     Explanation of Trait

    Intellectual Humility

    vs.  Intellectual Arrogance

    Intellectual Courage

    vs.  Intellectual Cowardice

    Intellectual Empathy

    vs.  Intellectual Narrow -mindedness

    Intellectual Autonomy

    vs.  Intellectual Conformity

    Intellectual Integrity

    vs.  Intellectual Hypocrisy

    Intellectual Perseverance

    vs.  Intellectual Laziness

    Confidence in Reason

    vs.  Distrust of Reason & Evidence

    Fairmindedness

    vs.  Intellectual Unfairness

     

    Intellectual Empathy is one often referenced in XL sessions.  Intellectual Empathy is imagining one’s self in the place of another in order to understand the person.  To do so, one has to regard another person’s feelings and not be self-centered. To be intellectually empathetic, an individual has to accurately understand the viewpoints and reasoning of another individual and accept ideas other than one’s own.  Along with this is the willingness to be wrong.  A student’s “job” is to understand what someone else is saying by a) listening, b) asking clarifying questions and c) being able to restate what they heard.  Also, it means a student’s  job is to find other words to explain his/her thinking, as needed, so as to clearly communicate to a listener.
Last Modified on August 26, 2017