The Aristotelian understanding of intellectual vice: Its significance for contemporary vice epistemology

Abstract

AbstractContemporary scholars working in vice epistemology attribute a motivational approach to the Aristotelian understanding of intellectual vice. My aim in this article is to show that this is not an accurate interpretation of the Aristotelian position. Toward this end, I discuss Aristotle's account of the intellectual virtues of (a) intelligence and (b) comprehension as well as their corresponding vices. In opposition to the claims of several contemporary vice epistemologists, I show that Aristotle had an obstructivist view of vice that focused on their consequences. I argue that this realization can be of significant import to contemporary vice epistemology.