Epistemic Objectivity and the Virtues

Filozofia Nauki 28 (3):5-23 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to bring the resources of virtue epistemology to bear on the issue of the epistemic objectivity of science. A distinction is made between theoretical virtues that may be possessed by scientific theories and epistemic virtues that may be exercised by individual scientists. A distinction is then made between ontological objectivity, objectivity of truth and epistemic objectivity, the latter being the principal focus of the paper. It is then noted that a role must be played by deliberative judgement in determining how to apply the theoretical virtues. It is suggested that such judgement may be virtuous in light of the exercise of the epistemic virtues. It is argued that the primary location of epistemic objectivity is the theoretical virtues, whereas the epistemic virtues of scientists play a subordinate role.

Similar books and articles

Subjectivism is Pointless.Michael J. Raven - 2013 - Logos and Episteme 4 (1):733-748.
"Recent Work in Virtue Epistemology".Guy Axtell - 1997 - American Philosophical Quarterly 34 (1):1--27.
The virtue of curiosity.Lewis Ross - 2020 - Episteme 17 (1):105-120.
Realism and the Epistemic Objectivity of Science.Howard Sankey - 2021 - Kriterion - Journal of Philosophy 35 (1):5-20.
Objectivity, Historicity, Taxonomy.Joeri Witteveen - 2018 - Erkenntnis 83 (3):445-463.
Xunzi and Virtue Epistemology.Cheng-Hung Tsai - 2014 - Universitas: Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture 41 (3):121-142.
Was Sir William Crookes epistemically virtuous?Ian James Kidd - 2014 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 48:67-74.
Objectivity, Intellectual Virtue, and Community.Moira Howes - 2015 - In Flavia Padovani, Alan Richardson & Jonathan Y. Tsou (eds.), Objectivity in Science: New Perspectives From Science and Technology Studies. Cham: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol. 310. Springer. pp. 173-188.
Other–regarding epistemic virtues.Jason Kawall - 2002 - Ratio 15 (3):257–275.

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-10-14

Downloads
590 (#27,090)

6 months
184 (#12,828)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Howard Sankey
University of Melbourne

References found in this work

The aim and structure of physical theory.Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem - 1954 - Princeton,: Princeton University Press.
The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory.Pierre Duhem & Philip P. Wiener - 1955 - Science and Society 19 (1):85-87.
"Recent Work in Virtue Epistemology".Guy Axtell - 1997 - American Philosophical Quarterly 34 (1):1--27.
The Value of Cognitive Values.Heather Douglas - 2013 - Philosophy of Science 80 (5):796-806.

View all 17 references / Add more references