Virtue Epistemology

Virtue epistemology is a contemporary philosophical approach to epistemology that stresses the importance of intellectual (epistemic) virtues. It combines the central tenets of virtue theory (also called “virtue ethics”) with classical epistemological approaches.

Intellectual virtue has been a subject of philosophy since the works of Plato and Aristotle, but virtue epistemology is a development in the contemporary analytic tradition. It is characterized by efforts to solve problems of special concern to modern epistemology, such as justification and reliabilism, by directing attention on the knower as agent in a manner similar to virtue ethics.