Develop Intellectual Empathy
Intellectual empathy means understanding the need to
imaginatively put oneself in the place of others to genuinely
understand them. To develop intellectual empathy, you must
recognize the natural human tendency to identify truth with
your immediate perceptions or longstanding beliefs. Intellectual
empathy correlates with the ability to accurately reconstruct
the viewpoints and reasoning of others and to reason from
assumptions, viewpoints, and ideas other than our own. This
trait also requires that we remember situations in which you
were wrong, despite an intense conviction that you were right,
and consider that you might be similarly deceived in a case
at hand. The opposite of intellectual empathy is intellectual
closemindedness.
Activity:
Reconstructing Arguments in Good Faith
Try to reconstruct the last argument you
had with someone (a supervisor, colleague,
friend, or intimate other). Reconstruct the
argument from your perspective and that of
the other person. Complete the statements
below. As you do, watch that you do not
distort the other’s viewpoint. Try to enter
it in good faith, even if it means you have
to admit you were wrong. (Remember that
critical thinkers want to see the truth in
the situation.) After you have completed
this activity, show it to the person you
argued with to see if you have accurately
represented that person’s view.
Complete these statements:
Activity:
Create a Plan for Practicing Intellectual Empathy
Create a plan to practice intellectual
empathy in your life. This will require
carefully thinking about the unique ways in
which you avoid empathizing with others.
Whenever faced with an issue or question that requires you to consider more than one point of view, ask yourself: