From Paul Gould's book The Outrageous Idea of the Missional Professor:
Here are Paul Gould's words on the virtue of "Intellectual Fair-Mindedness":
While the modern university exhibits increasing racial diversity, there is a surprising dearth of intellectual diversity. The presence of liberal and secular thought is so pervasive that monolithic groupthink and close-mindedness are common, and there is a noticeable pressure to conform to the status quo or to remain quiet. In this context, it is easy for us Christian scholars to feel defensive and to resort to caricatures of the liberal, secular, atheistic, even demonic left. In doing so, however, we risk being closed-minded ourselves.
The virture of intellectual fair-mindedness requires that we willingly listen in an even-handed way to those with whom we disagree. It is to strive to understand another's position and to resist erecting simplistic straw man arguments against our opponents which in turn are quickly (and often smugly) refuted. Perhaps the worry is that being open to another's viewpoint in a fair-minded way leads to relativism. Alternatively, perhaps the worry is that such fair-mindedness is not possible given our psychological biases. Neither worry is legitimate. Being fair-minded is consistent with the belief that there is an objective truth to be found. Further, one can be psychologically biased and maintain rational objectivity. Our biases don't stand as an insurmountable wall between our minds and the objective world. Being fair-minded in one application of the golden rule: we should want others to treat us and the views we hold with fairness and charity, and we should do likewise in return. (pp. 62-63--bold-face added)
