261030 Was heißt es, eine gute Denkerin / ein guter Denker zu sein? - Aktuelle Standpunkte der Tugenderkenntnistheorie und ihre Anwendung auf philosophische Bildungsprozesse (S) (SoSe 2018)

Intellectual virtues are the deep personal qualities or character strengths required for good thinking and learning. This course will examine the nature and structure of intellectual virtues and vices. In the first half of the course, we’ll examine several theories of what makes something an intellectual virtue or a vice.
In the second half of the course, we’ll apply the theories we’ve been studying by asking the question: What do we tend to associate with good thinking and learning? One familiar answer is knowledge. Good thinkers often know a lot. Another familiar answer is raw cognitive ability. Good thinkers also tend to be intelligent or to have a reasonably high IQ. However, a person can be very knowledgeable and intellectually “gifted” while also being intellectually hasty, lazy, dishonest, arrogant, servile, distracted, superficial, careless, or closed-minded. These latter qualities (vices) prevent a person from thinking or learning well. They are cultivated dispositions to act, think, and feel in particular ways. These considerations underscore the fact that good thinking and learning have a character-based dimension. They require the practice of qualities like intellectual carefulness, perseverance, honesty, humility, attentiveness, and thoroughness. These are intellectual virtues. They include qualities like curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual courage, and intellectual tenacity. Intellectual virtues differ from natural cognitive abilities like raw intelligence or IQ. With the right steps, and in a suitable environment, anyone can grow in intellectual virtues. Accordingly, throughout the course, our guiding questions will be: How can intellectual virtues be taught?

Requirements for participation, required level

Sehr gute Englischkenntnisse.

Bibliography

Baehr, J. (2011). The Inquiring Mind. (Oxford University Press).

Baehr, J. (2016) Intellectual Virtues and Education. Essays in Applied Virtue Epistemology (Routledge).

Winch, C. (2017) Teachers’ Know-How. A Philosophical Investigation (Wiley Blackwell).