The Importance of Humility and Curiosity in Forming Beliefs

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To cultivate a genuine understanding and formulate beliefs based on evidence, individuals must embrace humility and curiosity. A willingness to revise one's beliefs is essential; true belief formation hinges on the openness to changing one’s mind in light of new evidence. This involves actively seeking out information that challenges existing beliefs and being receptive to findings that may contradict personal convictions. The challenge lies in overcoming the natural human tendency to cling to comfortable beliefs without scrutiny. Engaging in this intellectual process requires a significant effort and an intrinsic motivation to explore, as many people do not prioritize examining the validity of their beliefs. Therefore, fostering a mindset that values questioning and the potential for surprise can significantly enhance the credibility of one’s beliefs.

What happens when ideology replaces critical thinking across academia? Philosopher, author, and former professor Peter Boghossian witnessed this firsthand at Portland State University, and his school was not an anomaly. Known for his role in the “Grievance Studies Affair”, exposing the low quality scholarship published in activist-oriented journals, Peter is worried about how this strange fringe of academia has come to dominate universities. He’s now working to revitalize and advocate for what should be the core of education - critical thinking, open debate, and the rigorous pursuit of truth.

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Follow Peter on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/peterboghossian

Peter on Substack: https://boghossian.substack.com/

Peter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drpeterboghossian/featured

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Outline:

[0:00] Philosopher, author, and father

[2:06] How tenure corrupts academic journals

[13:50] Grievance studies and hoax papers

[21:18] Reasoning vs rationalizing

[29:56] Can ideology infect the hard sciences?

[36:50] What makes people vulnerable to dogma?