Ideas, Self-Identity, and Intellectual Defensiveness
I may have stumbled upon why I rub some people the wrong way.
I don't identify myself or anyone else by ideas. In my definition of intellectual exchange, someone can be virtuous and valuable regardless if the validity of their perceptions and values. A child is not without value just because he or she is innocent and ignorant of the harsh realities of life. I feel the same about adults. Adults can be ignorant and misguided and still be virtuous and valuable.
Negative behaviors are likely to reduce my estimation of a human being, but ignorance shouldn't.
Not everyone thinks that way. There are people that self-identify by their ideas. If you attempt to refute or disprove their ideas, they perceive it as a personal attack. Howard Dean says Republicans are evil. I say Liberals have good intentions guided by faulty perceptions and understanding.
Howard Dean is on intellectual defense, I am on intellectual offense.
I want to hear ideas, slice and dice, and see if they hold up to scrutiny, and integrate them into my thinking if they don't leak. I am perpetually on intellectual offense. This is fine when dealing with people that think of ideas as intellectual capital that increases in value by putting it into circulation with other capital. But the intellectually defensive believe in hoarding and protecting their ideas like money in a mattress. When I start mixing my capital with their capital, they get protective and worried that their ideas may get devalued. And since they self-identify with their ideas - they take it personal.
I must modify my behavior. I must introduce facts and ideas in a less threatening manner when dealing with the intellectually defensive. They are good people, but they don't understand intellectual offense. (pun intended)
Those of you that have teens, should think about this. Teens are in the troublesome process of self-identification and are particularly prone to intellectual defensiveness.
When I occasionally sit in a high caliber strategic forum, I find both allies and adversaries that just love to mix it up with me and other allies and adversaries that take the outcome personal and don't even want to be in the same room with us. I think this may be the reason but I've never seen any studies, science or research on it.
Anybody? Is there a scientific name for these behaviors?
I don't identify myself or anyone else by ideas. In my definition of intellectual exchange, someone can be virtuous and valuable regardless if the validity of their perceptions and values. A child is not without value just because he or she is innocent and ignorant of the harsh realities of life. I feel the same about adults. Adults can be ignorant and misguided and still be virtuous and valuable.
Negative behaviors are likely to reduce my estimation of a human being, but ignorance shouldn't.
Not everyone thinks that way. There are people that self-identify by their ideas. If you attempt to refute or disprove their ideas, they perceive it as a personal attack. Howard Dean says Republicans are evil. I say Liberals have good intentions guided by faulty perceptions and understanding.
Howard Dean is on intellectual defense, I am on intellectual offense.
I want to hear ideas, slice and dice, and see if they hold up to scrutiny, and integrate them into my thinking if they don't leak. I am perpetually on intellectual offense. This is fine when dealing with people that think of ideas as intellectual capital that increases in value by putting it into circulation with other capital. But the intellectually defensive believe in hoarding and protecting their ideas like money in a mattress. When I start mixing my capital with their capital, they get protective and worried that their ideas may get devalued. And since they self-identify with their ideas - they take it personal.
I must modify my behavior. I must introduce facts and ideas in a less threatening manner when dealing with the intellectually defensive. They are good people, but they don't understand intellectual offense. (pun intended)
Those of you that have teens, should think about this. Teens are in the troublesome process of self-identification and are particularly prone to intellectual defensiveness.
When I occasionally sit in a high caliber strategic forum, I find both allies and adversaries that just love to mix it up with me and other allies and adversaries that take the outcome personal and don't even want to be in the same room with us. I think this may be the reason but I've never seen any studies, science or research on it.
Anybody? Is there a scientific name for these behaviors?
posted by ironcross11 | 6:37 PM
1 Comments:
I thinks it's called 'intellectual dishonesty."
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