Very good points! Plus, I’m a sucker for quoting and applying pragmatist philosophers!

I link these ideas up with my notion of the fragility of intelligence. I used to have a major anger/rage problem. I realized it came from my egotistical notion that I was smarter than most folks, especially my family in which I’m the only one with a college degree. I would get so pissed off because I’ve devoted my life to seeking wisdom and learning, yet no one in my family would listen to me or my arguments for anything remotely liberal.

I would be so mad. I’m the one with the knowledge. I’m the one that actually takes the time to break down complex ideas and test for truthfulness. Do they not value that? Do they not want truthful thoughts and conclusions?

It would seem they do not, and I had to let that desire go. For the sake of peace in my family and my mind, I had to become okay with my closest loved ones willfully living in ignorance. It was hard, but it is possible. I value the love that I know is between us more than the need to be right.

Taming that “emotional coefficient” in all of its various manifestations is necessary for the emotional health of the intellectual. No one cares how carefully we’ve thought about something. No one other than ourselves values that we’re right. For me, that was a source of rage. There are many folks who unknowingly owe their lives to my shadow work and taming that rage. They’ll never know and never care.