Educating for Intellectual Virtues: From Theory to Practice

My concern in this article is with two perennial questions in the philosophy of education and educational theory: What are the proper aims or goals of education? What are the most fitting ways of achieving these goals? The answers I defend draw heavily from recent research within virtue epistemology on intellectual character virtues like curiosity, open-mindedness, attentiveness, intellectual carefulness, intellectual courage, intellectual rigour, and intellectual honesty. I argue that education should aim at fostering growth in these traits and provide some indication of what it might look to educate in this way. I begin with a brief account of the basic structure of intellectual virtues. Next, I sketch three arguments for thinking that fostering growth in intellectual virtues should be a central educational aim. Finally, I entertain two objections to this claim. In response to the second objection, I also identify several educational practices and strategies aimed at fostering intellectual virtues. As this brief overview suggests, the article is broad in scope and largely programmatic. The unfortunate but necessary result is that several details will have to be left unspecified and a number of questions raised but then set aside for future consideration.