Intellectual Perseverance Defined
According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, intellectual perseverance is defined as having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight.
Intellectual Perseverance and Me
I was recently working through a biblical doctrine study with friends; with guidance of the Bible and a scholarly text, we met weekly to discuss difficult truths. While studying, we found ourselves struggling with unanswered questions; our goal was to address key biblical principles while gaining a deeper theological understanding of them. Though I did not realize it at the time, in those moments, I was experiencing intellectual perseverance.
As I continue in my Leadership degree, intellectual perseverance is a necessary way of thinking to help me through the academic obstacles I will experience. I imagine that as I progress I will wrestle with critical thinking standards, reasoning, and an overall feeling of inadequacy as I am faced with subjects that I've not considered. I expect late nights of reading about concepts that will give my brain quite the workout. However, by actively practicing intellectual perseverance, I expect that my appreciation for the critical thinking process will heighten as I gain a deeper understanding about the concepts I will learn through my degree program.
Intellectual perseverance is also important when learning with my peers. For example, as I continue taking courses, I expect my peers (and instructor) to challenge me via our discussion board and group assignments. While it is encouraging to have a classroom filled with experienced critical thinkers (as critical thinking relates to leadership concepts), it is also challenging. The challenge is that I have to take my time to think through what my peers are saying instead of providing an immediate response to simply complete an assignment. Although I know it will be challenging, that challenge helps sharpen my critical thinking skills. In allowing my critical thinking skills to sharpen, I am practicing intellectual perseverance. In exercising intellectual perseverance, I hope that I will use those opportunities to reflect on my need for intellectual battle, though I may experience overwhelm at first.
Intellectual Perseverance and Leadership
A good leader is one who is humble and teachable no matter his or her career, academic, or financial status. In support of this statement, I will highlight Mrs. F., one of my former supervisors. Mrs. F. and I launched our Savannah Area Campus in Pooler, GA. While IT Support helped with our basic internet needs, everything else was up to us! Although we successfully completed the manual labor, the most difficult part of our job still remain: thinking critically through campus operations, financial accounting, counseling students, curriculum modifications, and endless course registrations.
When I think of Mrs. F.'s leadership style, she definitely perseveres intellectually. I listened to her have difficult conversations with students about policies and address their critical questions; I also listened to her respectfully challenge University policies that seemed ambiguous. On many occasions, Mrs. F. and I often found ourselves struggling with the confusion of our own unsettled questions, yet we surrendered to an unwavering desire for deeper understanding. Working in an environment with a leader who was unafraid to embrace intellectual challenges created an atmosphere of intellectual nourishment and growth within our staff; as I progress as a leader, I want to create the same kind of environment. Additionally, I want intellectual perseverance to be the foundation of my academic pursuits.
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528
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