BYU Studies Quarterly
Article Title
The Spirit and the Intellect: Lessons in Humility
Keywords
Mormon studies, humility, intellect, spirituality
Abstract
Some individuals have great confidence in their knowledge of both intellectual and spiritual things. Boyce does not share this confidence. "I have come to believe, after many a false start," he admits, "that if I am honest and thorough in my approach to the gospel, and if I am honest and thorough in my approach to intellectual disciplines, there resides in each the imperative for a profound sense of humility. I discover in both of them that what we don't know far outstrips what we do." He then goes on to illustrate the limits of human knowledge by presenting three examples: Ludwig Wittgenstein, logical positivism, and the long theoretical debate in quantum physics between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. "These incidents from recent intellectual history," writes Boyce, "suggest that significant intellectual matters are often less settled than the current orthodoxy implies, whatever that orthodoxy happens to be and in whatever field." Even in spiritual matters, our current understanding may often be inadequate. "Beyond the certainties of the gospel," Boyce concludes, "the only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility. Humility is endless.
Recommended Citation
Boyce, Duane
(2011)
"The Spirit and the Intellect: Lessons in Humility,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 50:
Iss.
4, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol50/iss4/6