Intellectual Humility Makes You A Better Person
Showing 'intellectual humility'- recognising that you might be wrong about what you believe-isa reliable marker of how good people are making choices and understanding, according to a new study. The Buddha ayes that 'Humility is a great quality ut greater is to accept your errors hole heartedly and say I'm wrong.' Human life is so complex that mere'rechances of your opponent eking right many a time. And the acceptance of that is cerebral humility. Tellectual or cerebral humility is not a ew phenomenon. S Radhakrishnan explained it in his Oxford Series of essays in 1954. His own life exemplifies. Once when he was a Spalding professor of Eastern Religions and ethics at Oxford, he explained Ramanuacharya's Vishistadvaitvaad in a manner hat it had certain errors, one very right student stood up and politely said hat he(Radhakrishnan) inadvertently missed a few steps in his elucidation. Radhkrishnan was immensely happy to have been corrected by his own student! He invited the student to come and explain the points he missed. And when his student enumerated upon those points overlooked by the great professor, Radhakrishnan requested the then chancellor of Oxford Elwy Hunter to appoint that student as the next associate professor of Philosophy! This is intellectual humility. Anyone in Radhkrishnan's place would have taken umbrage and harboured at least a modicum of rancour. But Radhkrishnan not only encouraged that student to advance his arguments, but also recommended his name to the chancellor of Oxford. How many professors and 'intellectuals' have this kind of intellectual humility? Intellectual humility opens up the heart and mind and widens our horizons. Anyone can be humble but very few can be intellectually humble because latter entails acceptance of other person's superior wisdom and one's cerebral limitation. Nelson Mandela would often discuss his plans with yet another peace activist and fellow Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu because Mandela believed that one man's planning reeks of hubris and intellectual despotism. He called it 'intellectual openness and humbleness of mind'. unman beings become great because of their ingrained humility. It's a quality that cannot be developed or nurtured. It's innate. One's sure sign of future greatness. When Gandhiji went to meet South African General Smuts in his office for the first time, he removed his footwear outside his cabin. Seeing that, Smuts asked him not to remove the footwear. But Gandhiji stunned him with his reply, 'General, by removing my footwear, I maintain the decorum your office and also put my ego outsidSmuts was so impressed by this reply that he told Winston Churchill to learn humility from 'this frail Indian gentleman. Humility is a quality that comes only with great wisdom and life's vasexperiences. It's said that knowledge arrogant but wisdom is humble. Wisdom indeed is humble. Humility is the cornerstone of individual greatness. Look at all the greats in the history of human civilisation. They a have a common virtue. They were humble to the core. Issac Newton said, I've got nothirof my own, all my ideas are improvement upon earlier ideas and hints giby much greater predecessors of mite succeed in life, the quality one needs is humility. Remember the Scottish adage, 'Be humble and you won't tumble.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sumit Paul and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Sumit Paul and Speaking Tree,Times of India
Intellectual Humility Makes You A Better Person
Showing 'intellectual humility'- recognising that you might be wrong about what you believe-isa reliable marker of how good people are making choices and understanding, according to a new study. The Buddha ayes that 'Humility is a great quality ut greater is to accept your errors hole heartedly and say I'm wrong.' Human life is so complex that mere'rechances of your opponent eking right many a time. And the acceptance of that is cerebral humility. Tellectual or cerebral humility is not a ew phenomenon. S Radhakrishnan explained it in his Oxford Series of essays in 1954. His own life exemplifies. Once when he was a Spalding professor of Eastern Religions and ethics at Oxford, he explained Ramanuacharya's Vishistadvaitvaad in a manner hat it had certain errors, one very right student stood up and politely said hat he(Radhakrishnan) inadvertently missed a few steps in his elucidation. Radhkrishnan was immensely happy to have been corrected by his own student! He invited the student to come and explain the points he missed. And when his student enumerated upon those points overlooked by the great professor, Radhakrishnan requested the then chancellor of Oxford Elwy Hunter to appoint that student as the next associate professor of Philosophy! This is intellectual humility. Anyone in Radhkrishnan's place would have taken umbrage and harboured at least a modicum of rancour. But Radhkrishnan not only encouraged that student to advance his arguments, but also recommended his name to the chancellor of Oxford. How many professors and 'intellectuals' have this kind of intellectual humility? Intellectual humility opens up the heart and mind and widens our horizons. Anyone can be humble but very few can be intellectually humble because latter entails acceptance of other person's superior wisdom and one's cerebral limitation. Nelson Mandela would often discuss his plans with yet another peace activist and fellow Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu because Mandela believed that one man's planning reeks of hubris and intellectual despotism. He called it 'intellectual openness and humbleness of mind'. unman beings become great because of their ingrained humility. It's a quality that cannot be developed or nurtured. It's innate. One's sure sign of future greatness. When Gandhiji went to meet South African General Smuts in his office for the first time, he removed his footwear outside his cabin. Seeing that, Smuts asked him not to remove the footwear. But Gandhiji stunned him with his reply, 'General, by removing my footwear, I maintain the decorum your office and also put my ego outsidSmuts was so impressed by this reply that he told Winston Churchill to learn humility from 'this frail Indian gentleman. Humility is a quality that comes only with great wisdom and life's vasexperiences. It's said that knowledge arrogant but wisdom is humble. Wisdom indeed is humble. Humility is the cornerstone of individual greatness. Look at all the greats in the history of human civilisation. They a have a common virtue. They were humble to the core. Issac Newton said, I've got nothirof my own, all my ideas are improvement upon earlier ideas and hints giby much greater predecessors of mite succeed in life, the quality one needs is humility. Remember the Scottish adage, 'Be humble and you won't tumble.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sumit Paul and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Sumit Paul and Speaking Tree,Times of India