While the risks of intellectual interdependence are obvious, the advantages are rarely mentioned. Widespread silence about the advantages explains why many people dismiss intellectual independence as unworkable or unaffordable.
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) played a pivotal role in affirming intellectual independence as advantageous, first of all, for its practitioner. His literary output proves the feasibility of exercising intellectual independence in a hostile context.
The path towards intellectual independence was widened by Voltaire (1694-1778). He demonstrated the vast benefits drawn by a determined practitioner despite his powerful enemies.
I regard it as crucial to state those benefits because they are far from self-evident. History supplies compelling illustrations of those benefits, but not everyone has the patience to look for them.
Montaigne: intellectual independence and friendship
[1] Excellent friends constitutes a most valuable outcome of intellectual independence. Individuals who speak out the truth are particularly adept at identifying like-minded people.
Strong friendships rely on the virtues (truthfulness, courage, self-discipline, etc.) of the concerned persons, but those virtues can only be perceived when they are publicly exercised.
Montaigne acknowledged the insights and enjoyment drawn from conversing with his friend Etienne de La Boetie (1530-1563). I doubt that they would have become friends if they had refrained from speaking freely.
Silence and avoidance lead to psychological invisibility. It’s not possible to recognise like-minded people if they keep their mouths shut for fear of criticism. Intellectual independence is a prerequisite of truthful friendships.
Montaigne: intellectual independence and self-image
[2] A positive self-image goes hand in hand with intellectual independence. Ethical actions (truthfulness, courage, tolerance and self-discipline, for example) enable the practitioners to feel good about themselves.
Montaigne maintained a fairly optimistic outlook his whole life despite a chronic health issue (kidney stones) and a hostile environment (religious war between Catholics and Huguenots).
He devoted time to writing daily and saw his output grow in a steady manner. When he circulated his essays to friends, they gave him positive feedback that motivated him to work further.
Similarly, Voltaire enjoyed a positive self-image because he knew that his books were promoting tolerance, critical thinking and the respect for minorities. I’m referring in particular to his short novel “Candide,” published in 1759.
Montaigne: intellectual independence and learning
[3] Accelerated learning and high personal effectiveness are practically impossible without intellectual independence. If we refrain from thinking critically, we’ll inevitably make mistake after mistake. Why? Because fear of criticism drives people to stick to counterproductive behaviour until it is too late.
Montaigne was able to learn valuable lessons from reading ancient authors, and put those lessons into practice. When he read the “Nicomachean Ethics” by Aristotle (384-322 BC), his goal was to figure out how to improve his own life, even if that meant going against the dominant opinions.
In the absence of intellectual independence, learning is slow and cumbersome. In order to benefit from the “Nicomachean Ethics,” we need to apply its principles and critically asses our social and cultural environment. If we refrain from performing a critical assessment, Aristotle’s ideas will bear no fruit.
Montaigne did not have access to a large library, but made a highly effective use of what he had. His essay “Of Experience” illustrates his ability to combine lessons drawn from his own life and lessons drawn from ancient authors. The result is truly remarkable.
I view it as impossible to draw and internalise those lessons in the absence of intellectual independence. Lessons need to be critically understood before they can be put into practice.
It is pointless to parrot quotes from Plato (427-347 BC) and Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) if we are unwilling to point out today the issues that those authors were criticising in antiquity.
Montaigne: intellectual independence and speed
[4] Speed is a benefit that I seldom see mentioned anywhere even if it makes a large practical difference. People who exert intellectual independence can think massively faster than those who don’t. I mean faster and more accurately.
Without intellectual independence, the human brain tends to run in circles. If we lapse into mental passivity, we’ll become unable to put two ideas together and draw uncomfortable (but true) conclusions.
Montaigne had witnessed the lethal results of slow thinking. In some cases, people had overlooked obvious danger signals, emerging threats, and deteriorating conditions. Quick thinking could have saved their lives, but instead, they chose to stay put and perish.
In his essay “Of the Education of Children,” Montaigne is praising peasants because they tend to draw conclusions from their own perceptions. They have preserved their capacity for independent thinking.
Wisdom, notes Montaigne, can only be acquired by each person individually through his own efforts. Those efforts may include copious reading, but it’s not a quantitative process. Ideas need to be understood, critically assessed and put into practice.
Speed is of the essence in critical situations, where a delay may prove lethal. Why does intellectual independence help us think fast? Because it enables us to separate signal from noise, relevant from irrelevant facts at first sight, and get it right most of the time.
Most importantly, intellectual independence help us identify patterns and detect inconsistencies right away, without having to wait for third-party confirmation. I subscribe to Montaigne’s formulation that it enables us to be “open and prepared for all eventualities.”
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all areas of life, I recommend you my book “Sequentiality: The amazing power of finding the right sequence of steps.”