Education and the Growth of Knowledge

Ben Kotzee is a researcher at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues in the Education Department of the University of Birmingham, with which my values work is affiliated. The subject is treated from the angle of social and virtue epistemology in a series of nine essays by specialists in the field. Social epistemology recognises how forms of knowledge depend on social factors including social institutions. Virtue epistemology is a recovery of the tradition going back to Aristotle and places the emphasis on the knower rather than cognitive content. This in turn highlights the role of intellectual character and that of a good informant on whom one can rely; such a person will exhibit intellectual character virtues such as curiosity, open-mindedness, attentiveness, courage, rigour and honesty. The contributions explore extensions to traditional epistemology and are aimed at a sophisticated educational and philosophical audience.