“Being Wrong: The Virtues of Humility and Doubt”

We all like to be right, but should we get more comfortable being wrong? So often we make truth claims and proceed to stake so much on them: our ego, our reputation, our power. Given that every person’s knowledge is limited, shouldn’t we let go of certainty and embrace our painstaking collective construction of wisdom? After all, doubt is what launched the freethought movement. Hugh Taft-Morales explores the liberation that comes when one embraces intellectual humility and doubt.

Hugh Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU).  Hugh taught philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D. C., after which he transitioned into Ethical Culture Leadership.  In April of 2009 he graduated from the Humanist Institute and was certified as an Ethical Culture Leader by the AEU in 2010.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Taft-Morales graduated with a B.A. cum laude in American History from Yale University, 1979, and an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England, 1986.  He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife, Maureen, a Specialist in Latin America for the Congressional Research Service.  They have three wonderful adult children – Sean, Maya, and Justin. Hugh’s hobbies include yoga, singing, and playing guitar.