“One student found a scholarly article defending God to be unpersuasive, but when a classmate mounted a more plausible argument, her jaw dropped. Mr. Baehr still relishes the dynamic that unfolded. The student had been absolutely certain of her perspective. But, he says, her mind had been trained to be receptive to evidence in such a way that, when a sound counterargument was presented, she could take it in, even though she ultimately held to her position. “I want everyone to see what just happened there,” Mr. Baehr remembers telling his students. “You had a strong opinion and you encountered a strong opinion on the other side. That’s what I’m talking about with intellectual characters and virtues.”
