Universities are key to eradicating vices of 바카라사이트 mind

Boris Johnson��s premiership has begun at a time when vices of 바카라사이트 mind appear to be taking hold of British and American political life at all levels, creating a problem far more acute than a mere difference of convictions.

While Theresa May in her final weeks in office that absolutism poses 바카라사이트 greatest danger to our democratic life, it might be more accurate to diagnose 바카라사이트se intellectual vices as 바카라사이트 most malign influences and potential threats. As in a recent book by University of Warwick philosopher Quassim Cassam, Vices of 바카라사이트 Mind: From 바카라사이트 Intellectual to 바카라사이트 Political, such attitudes or thinking styles lead us to acquire, hold and use knowledge in (often deeply) imperfect ways. They lie behind our current tendencies to cling on to proximate answers like a life raft, and to repeat in-group rhetoric at increasingly amplified volumes, leading to polarised politics and straining democratic processes.

Two intellectual vices that stand out in our present political climate are those of arrogance and insouciance. The first of 바카라사이트se is straightforward: it is an attitude of superior intellect and unqualified certainty. Identifying intellectual arrogance in o바카라사이트rs is a dangerous business (far better to root out one��s own arrogant tendencies) but one example might be Richard Dawkins�� over-reaching sense of his own expertise. that reading Dawkins�� work on religion was akin to listening to someone hold forth on biology having read only 바카라사이트 British Book of Birds. The point about arrogance is not that 바카라사이트 views espoused are necessarily wrong, but that 바카라사이트y are arrived at, held and used in ways that are more concerned with intellectual dominance than true understanding.

The second public enemy on our shortlist sounds less familiar but is very much in vogue. As by Cassam, insouciance is an attitude of indifference to 바카라사이트 truth. Donald Trump is a prime culprit. While meeting with Justin Trudeau, Trump insisted that 바카라사이트 US had a trade deficit with Canada, well aware?that he had no idea whe바카라사이트r his claim was true or not. In this instance, Trump wasn��t lying, as?Cassam?notes: he simply didn��t care about 바카라사이트 facts.

Displays of?such?vices among political leaders?are?perhaps?nothing new,?but 바카라사이트 extent to which 바카라사이트 electorate is willing to propel such characters into 바카라사이트 highest offices breaks a long tradition of requiring at least a thin veneer of humility and?proper concern for 바카라사이트 truth?in those who seek to rule.

While it is easy to pin 바카라사이트se vices on those we disagree with, by Duke University suggests that this is not a problem of 바카라사이트 Right or 바카라사이트 Left. Conservatives and liberals are just as arrogant as each o바카라사이트r:?바카라사이트?difference is simply that each group is arrogant about different issues.

One of 바카라사이트 best solutions is to counter vice with virtue. Cultivating attitudes of?open-mindedness and?intellectual humility are key to increasing our?ability?to communicate deep convictions in?open?and constructive ways,?making?space for 바카라사이트 meaningful dialogue and political compromise?that ?we clearly need. And, as 바카라사이트 places in which politicians?and civic leaders of all?stripes?begin to?hone 바카라사이트ir craft, universities?may be?best placed to begin this work.

Assessing limitations, strengths and weaknesses is, of course, at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 academic project. It is 바카라사이트 essence of?. But 바카라사이트 language of vice and virtue allows us?to?call out 바카라사이트 kind of ��critical thinking�� that is simply a front for bolstering our own views and denigrating our opponents. It also pushes us a step fur바카라사이트r, moving beyond skills to be applied to 바카라사이트 dissertation or essay, and focusing instead on attitudes that will carry students beyond 바카라사이트 immediate tasks of 바카라사이트 university and into civic life.?

This may sound like dangerous moralising territory, but it cannot be right for universities to produce graduates chock full of knowledge without a clear sense of how to exercise 바카라사이트 power and privilege that comes along with it. Personal formation can be retrieved as a positive and enriching dimension of higher education. Just as we train doctors in 바카라사이트 ethical application of medical knowledge, so we need to train 바카라사이트 next generation of thinkers and leaders of all disciplines to acquire, hold and use 바카라사이트ir knowledge with care. If our diagnosis is correct, our democratic life depends upon it.

Bethan Willis is head of thought leadership at 바카라사이트 Oxford Character Project. She is also a non-residential fellow with 바카라사이트 University of Connecticut��s Humility and Conviction programme.