Intellectual courage

thumb|The intelligence is not free in the presence of a mortal fear lest its conclusions should trouble soft tranquillity of spirit. ~ John Morley Intellectual courage is the epistemic virtue enabling an epistemic agent to face ideas, beliefs and views which arouse strong negative emotions such as fear. Quotes The intelligence is not free in the presence of a mortal fear lest its conclusions should trouble soft tranquillity of spirit. John Morley, On Compromise (1908). Original publication date: 1886. Intellectual courage may be defined as having a consciousness of the need to face and fairly address ideas, beliefs or viewpoints toward which one has strong negative emotions and to which one has not given a serious hearing. Intellectual courage is connected to the recognition that ideas that society considers dangerous or absurd are sometimes rationally justified (in whole or in part). Conclusions and beliefs inculcated in people are sometimes false or misleading. To determine for oneself what makes sense, one must not passively and uncritically accept what one has learned. Intellectual courage comes into play here because there is some truth in some ideas considered dangerous and absurd, and distortion or falsity in some ideas held strongly by social groups to which we belong. People need courage to be fair-minded thinkers in these circumstances. The penalties for nonconformity can be severe. Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life (Second ed., 2014). Pearson. ISBN 9780133115703. See also Courage Epistemology Epistemic virtue Intellectual responsibility External links Category:Virtues