Moran, Seán P. (2011) Virtue epistemology: some implications for education. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Abstract
The new field o f virtue epistemology has implications for educational debate. In order
to identify these implications, I explore the seminal writings of Ernest Sosa and Linda
Zagzebski and develop them in directions promising for education. Both see
knowledge as true belief arising in a socially-situated cognitive agent from
epistemically-virtuous acts, rather than the traditional construal of true belief to which
an idealised, individual knower has a duty to assent because o f particular properties of
the belief. They differ in emphasis, however: Sosa stresses reliable mechanisms, while
Zagzebski accentuates virtuous motivation.
In dealing with Sosa’s reliabilist virtue epistemology, I analyse and build on his
precursor Robert Nozick’s model in ways propitious for education, including an
extension of his use of formal logic, and the importation of some concepts from
artificial intelligence theory. One significant outcome of my work on reliabilist virtue
epistemology is the importance of subjunctive conditionals, and thus a more nuanced
view of educational propositional targets, involving both p and -p. Sosa’s two-tier
model o f knowledge is also addressed.
I compare Zagzebski to her historical forebear Aristotle, and then develop some lines of
thought congenial to education. Zagzebski’s responsibilist virtue epistemology leads to
named intellectual virtues. I supplement these and show how they can be co-ordinated
between teacher and learner. Substantial consideration is also given to other-regarding
epistemic virtue and to testimony.
The model of learning and teaching defended amounts to virtuous belief-modification,
carried out by an epistemic agent (the learner), using intellectual virtue to bring his
doxastic web into closer cognitive alignment with reality via intersubjective
triangulation using the webs of others (particularly that of the teacher). I argue that a
combination o f the two approaches - virtue reliabilism and virtue responsibilism -
yields a richer, more decent basis for education than rival conceptions, such as
technical rationality, can provide.
Metadata
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
---|---|
Date of Award: | November 2011 |
Refereed: | No |
Supervisor(s): | Dunne, Joseph |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Ernest Sosa; Linda Zagzebski; philosophy of education |
Subjects: | Social Sciences > Education |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education |
Use License: | This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License |
ID Code: | 22543 |
Deposited On: | 07 Aug 2018 10:52 by Thomas Murtagh . Last Modified 07 Aug 2018 10:52 |
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