Do Degrees Infer Intelligence?

[DISCLAIMER]

When enlisted in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps (1996-2007), I considered military officers to be intelligent for the knowledge they possessed from institutions of higher education. Back then, about such topics, I remained ignorant (lacking knowledge, education, or awareness).

For your benefit, some terms may need to be defined. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), intelligence is defined as “the ability to derive information, learn from experience, adapt to the environment, understand, and correctly utilize thought and reason.”

As well, the APA defines knowledge as “the state of being familiar with something or aware of its existence, usually resulting from experience or study” and “the range of one’s understanding or information. In some contexts the words knowledge and memory are used synonymously.”

Given my prior ignorance about intelligence and knowledge, I began attending college when still in the Marines. I wanted to be as intelligent as the military officers under whose command I served. In 2009, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education degree.

Yet, I wasn’t necessarily any smarter (having or showing a high degree of mental ability). Therefore, I continued on with my education. In 2011, I earned a Master of Arts in Counseling degree. I even went on to earn a Master of Science in Social Work degree in 2014.

However, I wasn’t notably more intelligent than I was prior to joining the Marine Corps, though I was more knowledgeable about various topics. Still, in 2015, I gained employment with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and proudly displayed my degrees in an assigned office.

When other people expressed admiration for how intelligent I was perceived to have been, as evidenced by the degrees adorning the office walls, I felt discomfort associated with my beliefs about the matter. “I’m not all that intelligent,” I thought, “I just put in time and effort at school.”

This conclusion reminded me of a conversation I had with a social work professor at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s School of Social Work (now “Steve Hicks School of Social Work”) when attending graduate school (2012-2014).

A fan of both hip hop lyricist Nas and reggae artist Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, I enjoyed their collaborative album Distant Relatives (2010). In particular, I discussed with the professor a track entitled “Patience (Sabali)” which featured musical duo Amadou & Mariam. Lyrics state:

The average man can’t prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of

And still won’t research and find out the root of the truth that you seek of

Scholars teach in universities, and claim that they’re smart and cunning

Tell them find a cure when we sneeze, and that’s when their nose start running

And the rich get stitched up, when we get cut

Man a heal dem broken bones in the bush with the wet mud

Can you read signs? Can you read stars?

Can you make peace? Can you fight war?

Can you milk cows, even though you drive cars? Huh?

Can you survive against all odds, now?

The university professor with whom I discussed those lyrics conceded that intelligence and knowledge didn’t explain matters of common understanding. Alas, she continued to indoctrinate (to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle) students.

Favorably, I rejected much of the feminist rhetoric with which UT staff members attempted to condition me. Turns out, degrees held by military officers and even university professors didn’t infer (to derive as a conclusion from facts or premises) intelligence.

Ultimately, I’ve concluded that having a degree doesn’t directly infer intelligence. While there were some highly educated people at UT who were knowledgeable about dogmatic concepts, these individuals taught students what to think, though not how to think critically.

Although higher education degrees and intelligence are strongly correlated, I maintain that not one of my degrees infer intelligence. When further contemplating this matter, I think of the psychotherapeutic modality that I practice and a book which I’ve steadily been reading.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

The authors quote Epictetus who stated, “What is it then to be properly educated? It is learning to apply our natural preconceptions to the right things according to Nature, and beyond that to separate the things that lie within our power from those that don’t” (page 98).

Even without maintaining a college or university degree, you can be “properly educated” about how little control and influence you have in life. I provide lots of free psychoeducational material within my blog regarding this very topic. Also, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 98):

A degree on a wall means you’re educated as much as shoes on your feet mean you’re walking. It’s a start, but hardly sufficient. Otherwise, how could so many “educated” people make unreasonable decisions? Or miss so many obvious things?

Partly it’s because they forget that they ought to focus only on that which lies within their power to control. A surviving fragment from the philosopher Heraclitus expresses that reality:

“Many who have learned

from Hesiod the countless names

of gods and monsters

never understand

that night and day are one.”

This Heraclitus quote reminds me of Junior Gong having stated that “scholars teach in universities, and claim that they’re smart and cunning,” yet when faced with common knowledge (e.g., people cannot change their sex), that’s when their lack of intelligence was exposed.

The same may be said of “butter bars” (second lieutenants) when I served in the Marine Corps. These officers who were often fresh out of college heavily relied on mid-level and senior Marines to help them with matters relating to common knowledge among enlisted personnel.

Admittedly, I’m only moderately intelligent – as self-assessed by crude measurements. As well, I remain ignorant about most matters in life. Thus, acknowledgment of my limitations staves off hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence) displayed by many professors. How about you?

Do you illogically and unreasonably believe that degrees infer intelligence or that you should, must, or ought to have validation from an institution of higher education in order to learn how to stop self-disturbance? Concluding this matter, authors of The Daily Stoic state (page 98):

Just as you can walk plenty well without shoes, you don’t need to step into a classroom to understand the basic, fundamental reality of nature and of our proper role in it. Begin with awareness and reflection. Not just once, but every single second of every single day.

I concur that daily practice of Stoicism doesn’t require degrees. If my house burns down and my paper degrees are consumed by flames, I’ll still retain knowledge of how not to disturb myself with irrational beliefs. How about you? If you’d like to know more about REBT, contact me.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

References:

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Intelligence. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/intelligence

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Holiday, R. and Hanselman, S. (2016). The daily stoic: 366 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Penguin Random House LLC. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-daily-stoic-366-meditations-on-wisdom-perseverance-and-the-art-of-living-d61378067.html

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