Definitionv1DF-161
Intellectual humility
the measurement practice of accurately aligning confidence with actual competence, characterized by recognizing the fallibility of personal beliefs and appropriately attending to limitations in evidentiary basis and one's own knowledge acquisition and evaluation capabilities
Why This Is a Definition
This definition clearly establishes intellectual humility as a specific measurement practice rather than a personality trait or moral virtue. It identifies the genus (measurement practice) and differentia (accurate alignment of confidence with competence, recognition of belief fallibility, attention to evidentiary limitations). It distinguishes intellectual humility from false modesty and overcorrection, and explicitly connects it to metacognitive capacity and calibration. The definition is precise enough to distinguish it from related concepts like modesty or self-doubt.
Connections
Defines (26)
AxiomCognitive Defusion: Thoughts Are ObjectsAxiomPerception as Predictive ConstructionAxiomHindsight Bias and Calibration NecessityAxiomExpertise Transforms Perceptual ChunkingAxiomLinguistic Structuring of ThoughtAxiomComplementary Learning Systems ArchitectureAxiomCognitive Dissonance Drives Information AvoidanceAxiomDual Coding Theory: Verbal and Visual ChannelsAxiomConversational Memory Asymmetry From Production PlanningAxiomUltradian and Circadian Cognitive RhythmsAxiomAttention as Gate to Conscious PerceptionAxiomPerceptual Plasticity Through TrainingAxiomSystematic Overconfidence TaxonomyAxiomEmotion as Systematic Cognitive ModulatorAxiomMeaning as Receiver ConstructionAxiomBelief Perseverance Against Contradictory EvidenceAxiomExpertise as Domain-Specific Schema OrganizationAxiomCultural Transmission Through Shared IntentionalityAxiomScientific Paradigms Are IncommensurableAxiomCognition Operates Through Dual Processing SystemsAxiomConstrual Level Effects on PerceptionAxiomPeople interpret failure as either evidence about…AxiomYou necessarily trust your own cognitive faculties…AxiomCatastrophic failures in complex systems rarely result…AxiomHuman beings make decisions under conditions of incomplete…AxiomExpert performance in complex domains requires deliberate…