intellectual honesty
Fairness in reasoning
Intellectual honesty is the commitment to following evidence and logic wherever they lead, even when the conclusions are uncomfortable or contradict one's prior beliefs.
It involves acknowledging uncertainty, admitting mistakes, and representing opposing views fairly rather than constructing strawmen.
She showed intellectual honesty by conceding the point when the data didn't support her theory.
The opposite is motivated reasoning—bending arguments to reach predetermined conclusions.
- truthfulnessHabit of not lying
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- candorUnguarded truthfulness
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- critical thinkingObjective evaluation of information
fairness · objectivity · devil's advocate · self-criticism · humility · transparency · sincerity · evidence · reasoning · bias · blind spots · admitting · wrong · changing your mind · uncertainty · nuance · debate · scrutiny
- intellectual humilitymodesty, open-mindedness, receptiveness, teachability
- thinking traitscritical thinking, analytical thinking, open-mindedness, curiosity, reasoning
- intellectual virtuesopen-mindedness, fair-mindedness, curiosity, discernment, prudence
- critical thinkingcritical thinking, reasoning, logic puzzles, analysis, inference
intellectual honestybad faith
Intentional deception in dealings
sophistry · disingenuousness · mendacity · willful ignorance · denialism
intellectual honestygoalpost moving
Changing criteria after fact
equivocation · special pleading · double standards · hypocrisy · rationalization
intellectual honestyself-deception
Convincing yourself of falsehoods
rationalization · dogmatism · closed-mindedness · willful blindness · confirmation bias
intellectual, intellectually, intellectualism, intellect, intellects, intelligence, intelligent, intelligently, intelligentsia