Epistemic virtue

Epistemic virtue

The epistemic virtues, as identified by virtue epistemologists, reflect their contention that belief is an ethical process, and thus susceptible to the intellectual virtue or vice of one's own life and personal experiences. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the question "How do we know?" Some epistemic virtues have been identified by W. Jay Wood, based on research into the medieval tradition. The list belowFact|where does this list come from?|date=February 2007 substantially overlaps with his.

* attentiveness
* circumspection
* coachability
* creativity
* curiosity
* discernment
* discretion
* foresight
* intellectual honesty
* intellectual humility
* imaginativeness
* interpretive sensitivity
* objectivity
* perceptiveness
* prudence/practical wisdom
* studiousness
* tenacity
* truthfulness
* understanding
* wisdom
* warrant

Note that in this context "curiosity" bears the modern connotation of "inquisitiveness", in contrast to the medieval connotation of attraction to unwholesome things.

These can be contrasted to the "epistemic vices" such as:
* close-mindedness
* curiosity [see below]
* intellectual dishonesty
* dogmatism
* epistemic blindness
* folly
* gullibility
* obtuseness
* self-deception
* superficiality of thought
* superstition
* willful naïveté
* wishful thinking

Note that in this context "curiosity" bears the medieval connotation of attraction to unwholesome things, in contrast to the positive "studious" (or perhaps "inquisitive").

See also

* Intellectual virtue
* Egocentrism

External links

* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-virtue/ Virtue Epistemology] by John Greco

* [http://www.wheaton.edu/FandL/pdf/wood.PDF The Crisis in Contemporary Epistemology] by W. Jay Wood

* [http://www.shef.ac.uk/~phil/staff/hookway/akrasia.htm Epistemic akrasia (irrationality) as a deficit of virtue] by Christopher Hookway

* [http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/97_docs/siegel.html Is Inclusion an Epistemic Virtue?] by Harvey Siegel

* [http://www.missouri.edu/~kvanvigj/papers/montmarquetreview.htm Review of James Montmarquet's "Epistemic Virtue and Doxastic Responsibility"] by Jonathan L. Kvanvig


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