Intellectual Perseverance referenced
at http://www.criticalthinking.org 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”. I relish this definition as it relates to resiliency and being able to overcome road
blocks that may be presented in front of an individual.
This practice will be key to my
performance in obtaining my Master’s degree. At times, there will be hardship
and difficulties, but I am ready and committed to adapt, overcome, and be successful. From
experience I know I need to continue to work hard and remind myself about this definition to become a successful leader, not
only in my career, but a successful student as well. I have made decisions on many obstacles in life and I have struggled
with confusion on my decision making
process.
One example was making a hard
decision that I knew was right, versus making an wrong decision because it was
an easy fix involving a on a service member that required “firm adherence to
rational principles despite the opposition of others”. In this decision making
process, I had to discharge a soldier because he consistently failed to meet the Army’s physical standards. This individual
was a good person, however he was not a good soldier, which unfortunately led
to his discharge. This particular
decision resulted in a mixture of emotions because I was viewed differently between
my peers and some superiors. Some were
disappointed in me because they knew the this individual personally, and some
were impressed because I took and hard line and stood my ground.
. During this time period, a lot
ran through my mind, such as “ If I keep this soldier, what is the message I’ll
be sending to those who were once in his position but were let go?” or “ If I
let him go, what will my friends and
bosses who admire him going to think of me?” I was stuck in a dark cloud for a
couple of months because I thought my unit hated me. However as time passed, I
was content with my decision because I realized that I made the right decision to follow regulations.
As a
leader in my organization, I would embrace the chance to teach these fundamentals to other leaders who
work under, aside, and above me. This will spread a great practice in our
organization because this form of art is all but lost or practiced by very few.
Based on my experience, I have seen individuals go through difficult times
instead of intellectual perseverance, they simply give up. Once they give up it is like a virus for those
they work with, which spreads before there
is a chance for resilient person to come
in and save them from the road blocks they have created on tasks that need to be completed.
I know in our
discussions on fallacies intellectual perseverance will play a key role. For the
example I used in the discussion of “Appeal to Consequence”, I would have to
intellectually persevere and make the right decision with the facts presented to me despite my close relationship with
the individual. However I will have to sit and ponder to make the right
decision even though there may be confusion, obstacles, and frustrations I may experience. At the end of the day it will
allow me to gather better insight and embrace the fact that I am wrong and the
facts are right.
The critical thinking portion of
our discussion board can go hand in hand with Intellectual Perseverance or at
least be used as a sub tool. I would use it by thinking outside the lines of a
solution realizing there will be difficulties and confusion but all to reach
the end result of a deeper understanding. In comparison to Robert Ennis’s
definition of “Critical Thinking is
reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or
do”. (Nosich, 2012). The key phrase is deciding what to believe or do. Going
back to my previous example above with the soldier failing his PT test I
literally had to think critically of making the right decision because doing
the right thing is what I believe in and what I do.
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