The mind doesn’t naturally grasp the truth. We don’t naturally see things as they are. We don’t automatically sense what is reasonable and what unreasonable. Our thought is often biased by our agendas, interests, and values. We typically see things as we want to. We twist reality to fit our preconceived ideas. Distorting reality is common in human life. It is a phenomenon to which we all unfortunately fall prey.

Each of us views the world through multiple lenses, often shifting them to fit our changing feelings. In addition, much of our perspective is unconscious and uncritical and has been influenced by many forces – including social, political, economic, biological, psychological, and religious influences. Social rules and taboos, religious and political ideologies, biological and psychological impulses, all play a role, often unconscious, in human thinking. Selfishness, vested interest and parochialism, are deeply influential in the intellectual and emotional lives of most people.

We postulate that there are at least nine intellectual standards important to conducting affairs of everyday life. These are clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, logicalness, significance, and fairness.

Beginning with these nine intellectual standards will help set the stage for conceptualizing intellectual standards (more broadly) and for appreciating the essential role of intellectual standards in human reasoning.