Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Social Psychology Political Psychology

Philosophers highlight conflict between intellectual humility and political conviction in new psych paper

by Eric W. Dolan
March 17, 2023
in Political Psychology
(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Follow PsyPost on Google News

Although recent empirical work suggests that intellectual humility is associated with reduced affective polarization, greater openness to learning about rival positions, and empathy for political opponents, the authors of a new paper challenge the assumption that political conviction and intellectual humility are always compatible. Their argument has been published in The Journal of Positive Psychology.

“The standard view in philosophy and psychology is that people can be intellectually humble and still retain their convictions,” said corresponding author Michael Hannon, a fellow-in-residence at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. “We think this work is important because it aims to show that an intellectually humble person can still play an active part in modern political life.”

“However, there is also relevant research in political science which indicates that intellectually humble people may actually be less politically active, and they may have their convictions weakened or undermined. We wanted to explore these tensions, as well as explore some different conceptions of intellectual humility that seem to be forgotten and worth bringing back into view.”

In the article, Hannon and his co-author, Ian James Kidd, outlined three ways in which intellectual humility may interfere with political conviction.

Firstly, empathy, which is seen as a positive moral and epistemic outcome, is facilitated by humility. However, empathy can also lead individuals to agree with the perspectives of those with rival views to their own, leading to a tension between humility and conviction.

Secondly, intellectually humble individuals are better epistemically calibrated, allowing them to assess the plausibility of evidence for their beliefs and possess greater self-knowledge of their epistemic limitations. However, this may also lead them to question the justification of their political beliefs due to the immense epistemic complexity of many political problems and the fact that many political beliefs cluster around two main camps, even though the issues are rationally orthogonal.

Finally, intellectual humility may challenge political conviction by making individuals more open to alternative viewpoints and more willing to change their beliefs.

“We were surprised that the overwhelming consensus, amongst both philosophers and psychologists, is that intellectual humility and political conviction are compatible,” Hannon said. “Few scholars seem concerned about the fact that intellectual humility may threaten political conviction.”

But the authors acknowledged that it is possible to be both intellectually humble and have politically conviction. They went on to describe three forms of political quietism — diffidence, reticence, and modesty — which can be seen as manifestations of intellectual humility that do not necessarily equate with a lack of conviction.

Diffidence is defined as a principled commitment to carefulness and fairmindedness when taking on complex topics.

Reticence is a principled reluctance to voice opinions about complex or charged issues due to an appreciation of the demands of fully understanding such topics. In other words, reticent individuals resist offering snap judgments and “hot takes.”

Modesty about one’s epistemic abilities is a further aspect of a quietist political stance. Those who adopt this stance “know understanding will be fragile and liable to become outdated, and they are therefore averse to arrogance and hubris.”

“Our paper has two main lessons. First, intellectual humility and political conviction are not always compatible,” Hannon explained. “Second, intellectual humility can be expressed in different kinds of political life. A humble person might keep quiet, speak only about the very limited range of topics about which they are genuinely informed. Such quieter forms of humility are rarely appreciated in our noisy, know-it-all society, with its onus on having lots of views and loudly broadcasting them.”

Hannon pointed out two notable caveats.

“First, the precise relationship between intellectual humility and political conviction is still unclear,” he explained. While we provide some reasons to think that intellectually humble people may, under some circumstances, lose their conviction to some degree, there is still much empirical work needed to establish this way any certainty.”

“Second, there is more work to do in developing the quietist political stances we sketch at the end of the paper, and in seeing how they might work in modern political cultures,” Hannon said. “There are also important criticisms to consider, like the worry that quietist sorts of humility merely reinforce the status quo.”

The paper is titled: “Political conviction, intellectual humility, and quietism“.

TweetSendScanShareSendPinShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Radical leaders inspire stronger devotion because they make followers feel significant, study finds
Political Psychology

Radical leaders inspire stronger devotion because they make followers feel significant, study finds

June 28, 2025

A new study finds that voters are more motivated by radical political leaders than moderates, because supporting bold causes makes them feel personally significant—driving greater activism, sacrifice, and long-term engagement across elections in the United States and Poland.

Read moreDetails
Political ambivalence has a surprising relationship with support for violence
Authoritarianism

New study sheds light on the psychological roots of collective violence

June 21, 2025

A new study from Lebanon finds that people with authoritarian beliefs tend to oppose violence against political leaders, while those high in social dominance orientation are more likely to support violence against rival group members.

Read moreDetails
Epistemic mistrust and dogmatism predict preference for authoritarian-looking leaders
Authoritarianism

Epistemic mistrust and dogmatism predict preference for authoritarian-looking leaders

June 20, 2025

A new study suggests that the way people learn to trust others early in life can shape their political ideology and preference for strong, dominant leaders—though not directly, but through dogmatic thinking and broader political attitudes.

Read moreDetails
Individual traits, not environment, predict gun violence among gun-carrying youth
Political Psychology

Republican women and Democratic men often break with party lines on gun policy

June 19, 2025

New research shows that Americans’ views on gun policy are shaped by the intersection of gender and partisanship, with Republican women and Democratic men often expressing positions that differ from those typically associated with their party.

Read moreDetails
Troubling study shows “politics can trump truth” to a surprising degree, regardless of education or analytical ability
Donald Trump

Racial insecurity helped shield Trump from Republican backlash after Capitol riot, study suggests

June 18, 2025

Despite widespread condemnation of the January 6th attack, many white Republicans remained loyal to Trump—especially those who perceived anti-white discrimination. A new study shows how racial status threat can protect political leaders from the consequences of norm violations.

Read moreDetails
Poor sleep may shrink brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, study suggests
Political Psychology

Christian nationalists tend to imagine God as benevolent, angry over sins, and engaged

June 14, 2025

Christians who believe God is benevolent, engaged, and angered by sin are more likely to support religious nationalism, according to a new study. This worldview was also associated with conspiracy mentality and xenophobic attitudes.

Read moreDetails
Fear predicts authoritarian attitudes across cultures, with conservatives most affected
Authoritarianism

Fear predicts authoritarian attitudes across cultures, with conservatives most affected

June 13, 2025

A sweeping study of over 84,000 people across 59 countries found that individuals who feel threatened by crime, poverty, or instability are more likely to support authoritarian governance—especially in Western nations and among politically right-leaning individuals.

Read moreDetails
New research links certain types of narcissism to anti-immigrant attitudes
Narcissism

New research links certain types of narcissism to anti-immigrant attitudes

June 13, 2025

New research published in Behavioral Sciences shows that certain narcissistic traits are linked to anti-immigrant attitudes through competitive worldviews and ideological beliefs, highlighting the role of personality in shaping how people view immigrants and social hierarchies.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

New study reveals how MDMA rewires serotonin and oxytocin systems in the brain

Ghosting and ‘breadcrumbing’: the psychological impact of our bad behaviour on dating apps

Older adults who feel criticized by loved ones are more likely to develop depression

New study exposes gap between ADHD drug use and safety research in children

People who are more likely to die seem to care less about the future

Researchers identify neural mechanism behind memory prioritization

Love addiction linked to memory and attention problems

Positive early experiences may buffer suicidal thoughts in those with trauma symptoms, new study finds

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy