- October 22, 2014
- 10:18 am
- Al Gini
- no comments
10 Intellectual Virtues
Gini in the Bottle
10 Intellectual Virtues
Al Gini
It’s mid-term election season, and in Illinois we have a race going on for the Governor’s office. To date, both candidates have been accusing each other of ethical lapses and failures. Each has questioned the integrity of the other. Both claim moral superiority over the other.
Certainly moral competence is or, at least, should be a primary requisite for anyone seeking public office. I for one want a moral person on the job. A person who does the “right thing, for the right reason, on a purpose.” But I also want my candidate to possess “intellectual virtues” as well as “moral virtues”. That is, I want my political leader to be both morally and intellectually astute. I want them to possess knowledge as well as a modicum of goodness and compassion for others.
Now, I know that knowledge is not the same thing as wisdom. Being well read, well informed, and full of facts does not mean you are wise; but, it is a necessary condition for the possibility of achieving wisdom. Listed below are the 10 Intellectual Virtues I think all politicians should possess. In fact, this is a list of virtues all of us should strive to achieve in our lives.
10 Intellectual Virtues
- Love of learning: Intellectual excellence; intellectual curiosity.
- Timing: Knowing when to be daring and when to be cautious. (Self-regulation.)
- Firmness and Flexibility: In all policy and practice.
- Humility: Be willing to admit when you are wrong. Don’t let status get in the way of accuracy.
- Recognizing your Limits: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses.
- Autonomous: Make up your own mind. Do not be a slave to popular beliefs/opinion.
- Generosity: Be willing to share knowledge, and give others credit for their ideas.
- Fairness: Be logical and objective with others.
- Creative thinking: Ability to think outside the box. (Because nothing ever happens as it is planned.)
- Aesthetic Sensitivity: Recognizing the larger political, social, and cultural implications of any given decision.