Intro here – Physical Courage – Emotional Courage – Intellectual Courage – Social Courage – Moral Courage – Spiritual Courage
How to help your child develop INTELLECTUAL COURAGE
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it,” Henry Ford declared.
Intellectual courage is driven by confidence in one’s ability to think. It requires sufficient will and intellectual curiosity to reject taking ideas at face value or going along with the crowd and popular opinion. And it involves having the humility and honesty to be willing to fairly examine all sides of an argument.
Having deeply examined an idea, intellectual courage (which Nobel Prize winner, John Polanyi, says is even rarer than physical courage) also involves a willingness to stand behind one’s thinking in the face of opposition.
To encourage this quality of intellectual courage in your kids :
INTRODUCE YOUR CHILD TO PHILOSOPHY AND THE IDEAS OF FAMOUS PHILOSOPHERS
- An easy way to do this would be to subscribe to the UK children’s magazine Brilliant Brainz. In every issue, we explore a different theme from a broad philosophical point of view. Your kids learn to explore all sides of a topic, so they develop the ability to examine things fairly. They also learn to persist beyond the surface level – and this quality of being able to persist with thinking, and go deeper and deeper, is a massive marker for intellectual courage.
HELP YOUR CHILD PRACTICE CRITICAL THINKING WHEN PRESENTED WITH NEW (AND OLD) IDEAS
- In a world awash with information/disinformation, data, and statistics that are often shaped and packaged by vested interest, marketers, or political and geopolitical influencers, critical thinking skills are more important than ever to navigate the sea of “fake news” claims and counterclaims.
- The ability to check and verify, and conduct research of their own will be an invaluable ‘future skill’ for your children to master.
CELEBRATE THINKERS, INTELLECTUAL HONESTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF (EVER-EXPANDING) TRUTH
- Resist, as much as you can, the desire to have your kids think exactly as you do. Instead, favour your children participating in discovery, exploration, testing, experimentation, and expansion of existing knowledge.
- Help your child recognise the Memetic* quality of ideas, how they take on a life of their own and have a viral-like quality. This can help them maintain some intellectual ‘distance’ so they don’t get swept up by the cult-like quality of an idea system and accept it unquestioningly.
* Meme: Idea virus
How To Raise Your Child To Be Courageous – 1. Physical Courage – 2. Emotional Courage – 3. Intellectual Courage –4. Social Courage – 5. Moral Courage – 6. Spiritual Courage
If you want your child to have intellectual courage, to be fearless and curious in their exploration of the world, grab a children’s magazine subscription for your favourite brightspark! Your kid will LOVE each jam-packed issued delivered fresh to their doorstep every month! (Sample)