It's Time to Reclaim Our Universities and Restore Critical Thinking and Intellectual Humility in the Classroom!
In this article, I examine the decline of critical thinking and intellectual humility in modern academic institutions, with a particular focus on the contrasting approaches between the natural sciences and the social sciences and humanities. I argue that natural scientists embrace intellectual humility by testing theories, reducing bias, and remaining open to being proven wrong, whereas many scholars in the social sciences and humanities tend to defend ideologies at all costs, prioritizing winning arguments over uncovering objective truths. This shift has contributed to the rise of cultural movements, such as cancel culture, pronoun inflation, identity politics, and radical feminism, which, despite often starting with good intentions, have evolved into extreme positions that threaten social stability. Furthermore, I emphasize the importance of teaching critical thinking at an early age, suggesting that without these foundational skills, individuals are ill-equipped to critically engage with algorithms, digital content, and fall prey to misinformation. I call for a return to rigorous, open-minded scholarship, urging a reevaluation of academic priorities to foster intellectual integrity, critical thinking, and truth-seeking in future generations.
Nov 27, 2024
