Tag: virtue

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The Temptations of Intellectual Pride

By Jim Spiegel

Many times over the years people have asked me about the dangers and pitfalls of studying philosophy, particularly for a person of faith. Usually the questioner has worries about the subject matter of philosophy—the questions that philosophers ask and, especially, wayward ideas that abound in the field, from metaphysical naturalism to moral relativism, which are inimical to a Christian faith perspective. In answering the question, I usually make a couple of observations. One is to acknowledge that, yes, there are many hazards involved in philosophical inquiry as regards the ideas and arguments one encounters in the field. And yes, it is possible for a well-intended Christian philosopher to be duped by what the Apostle Paul calls “hollow and deceptive arguments” (Col. 2:8). I have seen this happen to many people over the years. But I have seen it happen just as frequently, if not more so, in other fields, especially in the social sciences. So philosophical studies should not be singled out as the academic field most hazardous to one’s spiritual health. Moreover, I believe the potential upside of Christ-centered philosophical studies to be greater than that of any academic field, aside from theology.

Another observation is that when it comes to spiritual hazards in academic pursuits, the biggest culprits are not particular subjects, ideas, or arguments but rather human vices that are often occasioned by academic inquiry generally, including but not limited to philosophical studies. Here I am thinking especially about intellectual pride. I can think of at least four ways in which serious academic pursuits present temptations to intellectual pride.

One such temptation is the desire for absolute intellectual autonomy, the impulse to work things out for oneself when it comes to worldview and questions about all sorts of issues, including one’s ultimate values and the meaning of life. Of course, a certain amount of intellectual autonomy is good and proper, even necessary for human maturity. But taken to the extreme, where a person denies, even if only tacitly, the authority of Scripture over one’s life and belief system, this is, from a Christian perspective, most certainly a vice.

Another related temptation is the inclination to dismiss scriptural authority or particular biblical passages because of confusing passages and a lack of philosophical sophistication. While what has traditionally been called the perspicuity of Scripture (the clarity of its meaning, at least on the most central issues, for ordinary readers) is commonly hailed as a hallmark of its divine inspiration, someone who is trained in rigorous logical analysis may be tempted to question this because Scripture’s assertions and narratives are sometimes cryptic, confusing, or even crudely articulated and not what a trained academic, such as an analytic philosopher might “expect” from a divinely inspired text.

Thirdly, rigorous academic training and the pursuit of rational accounts and demonstrable explanations for phenomena can tempt a person toward a disinclination to be content with mysterious aspects of Christian doctrine. Appeals to mystery can sound like a cop-out to the serious academician (never mind the fact that everyone relies on significant articles of faith at the foundation of their belief system—e.g., the laws of logic, the general reliability of sense perception, the law of causality, and even the existence of other minds), and for this reason the Christian scholar may be tempted to deny or disparage the role of mystery in her belief system.

Finally, the fact that academicians tend to be endowed with significant intellectual gifts—which partly explains why they become academicians in the first place—is itself a source of temptation. Such people tend to have greater mental adroitness, and this brings with it skills for profound insight and innovation but also for rationalizations and obscuring moral truths. Intellectual gifts, like all human talents, are a double-edged sword, both a blessing and a curse. A significant aspect of the latter is the temptation it presents for the intellectually gifted person to effectively deploy her acumen to warp, undermine, or obfuscate otherwise plain biblical teachings, especially as these regard Scripture’s moral standards and the obligations they impose on us.

Augustine maintained that the root of all human sin is pride, which is essentially arrogant self-satisfaction. C. S. Lewis agrees, noting that “the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind” (from Mere Christianity).

Any gifts or talents with which God blesses us may be occasions for pride, and this is especially true of intellectual gifts, for the reasons I’ve noted. This might explain why there are so many biblical warnings and rebukes regarding intellectual pride. The book of Job culminates with the Lord showing Job the puny reach of his understanding. The writer of Ecclesiastes calls the pursuit of wisdom under the sun “a chasing after the wind.” And Jesus highlights how some of the greatest insights are “hidden…from the wise and the learned and revealed…to little children” (Mt. 11:25).

We would all do well to keep this in mind, especially those of us who are academicians. If not properly tethered by a humble submission to God and the authority of Scripture, our intellectual gifts may actually become a hindrance to understanding, amounting to more of a curse than a blessing. As the Apostle Paul says, “Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? … [T]he foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1:20-25).

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Christian Joy

By Jim Spiegel

In Galatians 5 we are told that joy is a fruit of the spirit, a virtue that is an important mark of the Christian life. We also know from such passages as 1 Cor 9:24-27 and 1 Tim 4:7-8 that we must train for godliness. The development of such virtues as patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control and joy is largely intentional, a product of spiritual discipline. So how does one train to be joyful?

Surely, one important part of our training for joy, as for all of the virtues, is imitating Jesus. So what was the nature of his joy? One thing we know for sure is that Jesus’ joy was not based in this world. In fact, Isaiah 53, a prophetic messianic passage, tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows.“ Why was he a man of sorrows? Ecclesiastes 1:18 provides a clue: “with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” This disturbing truth follows from the fact that ours is a tragic world where virtue is hated and vice is pervasive. The most righteous people are often the most hated. This is one reason why righteousness is very rare (as Jesus says, the path is narrow and few find it). Being most righteous, Jesus was therefore destined to be hated. And being omniscient and maximally wise, he was also destined to be maximally grieved and sorrowful.

What, then, could be the nature of the joy of Christ given his perpetual condition grief and sorrow? It would have to come down to his hope for the future—an anticipatory grasp of what lay ahead for him. Christian joy, it turns out, is future oriented, a fact that was perfectly personified in Christ. As the writer of Hebrews notes, “for the joy set before himself he endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2).

As fallen human beings we are constantly tempted to seek joy in this world in the form of all sorts of things—job satisfaction, marital happiness, friendships, professional accomplishments, peer recognition, family harmony, physical pleasures, and creature comforts of all kinds. But those are all idols, false gods, since joy is borne of another world. In fact, joy comes only through the denial of the foolish pleasures of this world and embracing (not trying to avoid) its sorrows. This is why C. S. Lewis says joy is actually a kind of longing. Perhaps it is itself a species of sorrow—the sorrow that comes of longing for our eternal home with God. In any case, Christian joy is deeply connected to our Gospel hope.

This suggests another important way of cultivating the virtue of Christian joy and that is by studying biblical eschatology—the Scriptural teaching about the “last things.” It has been said that there is more teaching about eschatology in the Bible than about any other branch of theology. Whether or not that is accurate, it is clear from the abundance of eschatological biblical content that God wants us to dwell on our future hope, to reinforce our faith and to increase our joy. As with Christ, he sets this joy before us that we might be better motivated to endure the crosses we carry in our own lives.

Specifically, it appears that God wants us to know that: 1) the future is written, set in stone as much as are past events (he transcends time and knows the end from the beginning) and 2) the future is good, perfectly good for the people of God. We do know, from such passages as Matthew 24; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; 2 Tim. 3:1-9, and the book of Revelation that the end times will be painful, even excruciating for many Christians. But like childbirth this will all be for a good purpose, as God will be purging sin—punishing the wicked and purifying his people, preparing us for union with our Savior at the great wedding that will take place at the inauguration of his perfect Kingdom. The more we focus on this, the more we will find contentment in this troubled world and truly take hold of Christian joy.

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Civil Public Discourse and the Virtue of Open-mindedness

By Jim Spiegel

 

This past weekend I gave a presentation at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics in Chicago.  My presentation was entitled “Civil Public Discourse and the Virtue of Open-mindedness.”  Here I will summarize the content of my talk.

Today there is a lot of anger and division about political and moral issues.  How do we demonstrate civil discourse in the midst of this? Our natural responses to conflict are essentially fight or flight.  We either withdraw from those with whom we disagree or we challenge them to show them where they are wrong.  But neither approach is constructive because withdrawal kills dialogue and challenge makes people defensive.  In neither case is civil discourse achieved.

I argue that the proper alternative is open-minded engagement.  I affirm Jason Baehr’s definition of open-mindedness as a willingness to transcend one’s default cognitive standpoint on an issue (The Inquiring Mind, Oxford, 2011).  A person who is open-minded in this sense displays a readiness to take seriously alternative perspectives and a willingness to welcome new evidence that could overturn their current beliefs.  Although people generally admire those who display such open-mindedness, it is difficult to do so because our current belief set is comfortable, open-mindedness challenges our intellectual pride, and open-mindedness requires moral work, specifically development and application of the virtues of self-control and patience.

Obviously, we should not be open-minded about everything (e.g., being open to the idea that my spouse is actually an alien or that rape is morally acceptable).  We should be foreclosed about many things.  But regarding issues where reasonable people disagree, we should strive to keep an open mind.  I argue that in such cases open-mindedness is an intellectual duty.  This is because each of us has many false beliefs, as evident in the fact that we all disagree with many people who are at least as intelligent and responsible as we are.  Other factors also guarantee that I have false beliefs about various issues, including the fallibility of my reasoning skills and perceptual abilities, as well as the fact that I don’t have the time or ability to thoroughly vet all of my beliefs.

Some other reasons to be open-minded are that this trait is critical for learning, and open-mindedness follows from the Golden Rule: I want others to seriously consider my truth claims and welcome the evidence I present to them, so I should do the same regarding others’ truth claims and arguments.

So how does one become more open-minded?  Here are three practical tips for transcending one’s default perspectives: (1) intentionally build your moral imagination, (2) practice active listening—resolve to speak less than your conversation partner, and (3) be Socratic—develop the art of questioning (which can also expose problems in others’ views).

Finally, it is important to remember that open-mindedness is effective for changing others’ minds.  This is because open-mindedness is disarming; it prevents others from becoming defensive.  It can also be contagious.  If you display an open mind, then your neighbor is more likely to do so also.  But even where minds don’t change, open-mindedness improves civility because it makes us less defensive, makes us feel less threatened by those with whom we disagree, and enhances our capacity for calm and patient dialogue.

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Recent Work on the Virtue of Open-mindedness

By Jim Spiegel

One of my current research projects concerns the virtue of open-mindedness, and recently two of my articles on the subject were published in scholarly journals.  One of these, which appears in the March issue of Theory and Research in Education, discusses several accounts of open-mindedness and defends William Hare’s account against some prominent alternatives, including those of Peter Gardner and Jonathan Adler.  In the essay I also compare and contrast open-mindedness with the related virtue of intellectual humility.

My other article, published in the April issue of Sophia, discusses what I call the paradox of open-mindedness and religious devotion.  To be religiously devout is presumably to be firmly committed to believing in and following God, and this includes behaving virtuously in all respects.  But such commitment seems to rule out openness to changing one’s mind about certain beliefs and values that are entailed in that religious devotion.  Now assuming (as nearly all virtue ethicists and epistemologists do) that open-mindedness is a virtue, this creates a paradox, where it appears to be virtuous to display an intellectual vice, namely closed-mindedness.  In my essay I explore a variety of potential ways of resolving this paradox.  The route that I think succeeds appeals to the possibility of personal knowledge of God via direct experience.

My work on open-mindedness is ongoing, and my long-term goal is to do a book on the subject.  More immediately, I am working on a paper entitled “Open-mindedness and Christian Flourishing” which I am slated to present at a Society for Christian Psychology conference this fall dealing with the theme “Towards a Christian Positive Psychology.”  I’ll say more about this conference in a later post.

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The Virtue of Wisdom

By Jim Spiegel

An exciting new book has recently been released.  It is entitled Being Good: Christian Virtues for Everyday Life (Eerdmans), edited by Michael Austin and Douglas Geivett.  The book features chapters on eleven different virtues—faith, open-mindedness, wisdom, zeal, hope, contentment, courage, love, compassion, forgiveness, and humility.  I was pleased to be among the contributors, which include many superb Christian philosophers.  Each chapter aims to explain the essence of the virtue discussed with a view to benefiting readers in a practical way.  My chapter is on the virtue of wisdom, and below is an overview of what I discuss.

Generally speaking, wisdom is a kind of practical moral insight.  So it appears to be both a moral virtue and an intellectual virtue.  For the wise person has knowledge of what is the best conduct in particular situations, and this knowledge is manifested in good conduct.  So you might say that wisdom is a sort of “governing” virtue that is necessary, to some degree, for the development of all other virtues. This is why wisdom is especially important and perhaps why we find such a strong biblical emphasis on it.

How does one become wise?  Is it just a matter of study and cognitive reflection?  While we usually think in terms of beliefs determining behavior, Scripture suggests that the causal dynamic runs the other direction as well.  The Old Testament wisdom literature tells us that God makes wise the simple and grants understanding to those who humble themselves (see Psalm 19:7, Psalm 25:9, Prov. 1:4, and Prov. 11:2).  And some New Testament passages underscore the critical role of behavior when it comes to belief formation (e.g., Rom. 1:18-32, Eph. 4:18-19).

Alvin Plantinga has provided some insights regarding how vice undermines wisdom.  He notes that cognitive faculties are like any other aspect of human beings, in so far as they were designed for a purpose (to form true beliefs) and that they function properly only under certain conditions.  Like any physical organ, such as lungs or eyes, cognitive processes can malfunction because of corrupting influences.  And moral vice, such pride, resentment, or the habitual indulgence in perverse behavior, is a major cause of cognitive malfunction.  In other words, sin compromises a person’s capacity to form true beliefs, particularly regarding moral and spiritual matters.

Psychological studies have shown that, when faced with a conflict between their personal beliefs and behavior, people will often reconcile this conflict by changing the way they think about their behavior.  Rather than alter their conduct, they will take the less demanding route and search for some way to rationalize it.  This response is almost always unconscious, which of course makes for a morally insidious dynamic in contexts involving vicious behavior.  These moral-psychological insights appear to confirm the Apostle Paul’s remarks in Romans 1:18-32 where he describes how wicked behavior leads to futile thinking.

So immorality undermines the quest for wisdom.  But on the positive side, virtuous living leads to wisdom.  By living rightly we diminish the corrupting impact of sin on the mind.  Consequently, our cognitive processes can function properly, and we are more likely to form true beliefs about moral and spiritual issues.  So those who faithfully obey God will grow wiser, just as Scripture tells us.

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A Theology of Sports—Part 3

By Jim Spiegel

In the first two installments of this series, I discussed how sports have aesthetic value and provide clear examples of excellence.  In this post I want to highlight another significant way in which sports are valuable.

3. Athletic competition builds character. It seems to me that the most significant benefits of sports pertain to the impact that athletic competition can have on the competitors themselves.  By participating in sports athletes develop leadership skills, teamwork and dedication to a shared goal, an attitude of service and mutual submission, discipline and poise under pressure, and many other virtues, including patience, courage, and self-control.  Athletes also learn how to graciously deal with disappointment and to persevere through difficulty and pain.  We might even say—if it’s not too melodramatic to put it this way—that athletes learn that grief is the price you pay for love.  This is true for fans too, as any Chicago Cubs fan knows.

Every sport provides a microcosm of the human experience, and this includes the fact that it is our lot to suffer in this life, as Moses reminds us in Psalm 90.  The sooner you grasp this fact, the better your chances to make it through to the end without losing your mind.  You don’t have to be a fan of the Cubs or Detroit Lions (I happen to be both!) to know that the love of a game or a particular team carries with it both joy and sorrow.  While the joys and sorrows on the field or court pale in comparison to the birth of a child or loss of a loved one, they do provide healthy metaphors for these and other more serious life experiences.  And I would even say that to have been exhilarated or disappointed in these less significant ways provides valuable preparation for life’s greater joys and sorrows.