2.3 Developing Good Habits of Mind

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Define epistemic humility and the Dunning-Kruger effect.
  • Identify three strategies to increase the ability to think objectively.
  • Analyze emotional responses to information.

One of the ways to respond to cognitive biases is to develop good habits of mind. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions to cognitive biases. Remember, these biases are a result of the way the brain works. Nevertheless, metacognition and critical reflection, as well as good mental habits, can help combat these natural tendencies in thought that otherwise leads us astray. The strategies outlined below can help you become a better philosopher. You should compare them with the methods philosophers use to arrive at truth, covered in Chapter 1.

Connections

See the introduction to philosophy chapter to learn more about how philosophers arrive at the truth.

This lesson has no exercises.

The content of this course has been taken from the free Philosophy textbook by Openstax