Epistemic Virtue from the Viewpoints of Mulla Sadra and Zagzebski

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

University of Qom

Abstract

This paper compares epistemic virtue from the viewpoints of Zagzebski and Mulla Sadra, aiming to determine the extent to which their viewpoints on epistemic virtue are similar. Zagzebski, the contemporary philosopher, considers epistemic virtue as the basis on which knowledge is interpreted. She sees epistemic virtue as a requirement for achieving knowledge. Mulla Sadra, the founder of Transcendent Philosophy, considers knowledge as an outcome of intellectual virtues without which there would be no knowledge. The role these two philosophers ascribe to moral and intellectual virtues and vices in forming the identity makes it possible to compare their interpretation of epistemic virtues. As a virtue responsibilist, Zagzebski sees epistemic virtue as a character trait and explains its nature by its different components. Sadra as well, sees epistemic virtue as a character trait. Evidence shows that Sadra’s definition of intellectual virtues is similar to that given by Zagzebski in many respects. Examining Zagzebski’s viewpoint on epistemic virtue, this paper will discuss Sadra’s viewpoint on epistemic virtue as well as its contribution to knowledge. In conclusion the similarities of the two viewpoints will be delineated.

Keywords


Aristotle. 1378 Sh. Nichomachean Ethics. Translated by Muhammad Hasan Lotfi. Khwarazmi Press.
Battal, H. 2008. "What is Virtue Epistemology." February 23. https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Valu/ValuBatt.htm#top.
Farabi, A. 1405 AH. Al-Fusul al-muntaza‘a. Edited by F. M. Najjar. Tehran: al-Zahra.
Greco, J. 2002. "Virtues in Epistemology." In Oxford Handbook of Epistemology, edited by Paul Moser, 278-315. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kashani, M. 1339. Al-Mahajja al-bayda’ fi tahdhib al-ihya’. Tehran: al-Saduq.
Mulla Sadra. 1981. al-Hikmat al-muta‘aliyah fi 'l-asfar al-‘aqliyyah al-arba'ah. Edited by M. R. al-Muzaffar. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-‘Arabi.
———. 1380. Al-Mabda’ wa-l-ma‘ad. Edited by S. J. Ashtiyani. Qom: Daftar-i Tablighat-e Islami.
———. 1382. Al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah fi manahij al-sulukiyyah. Edited by S. J. Ashtiyani. Mashhad: Markaze Nashre Daneshgahi.
———. 1360. Mafatih al-ghayb. Edited by M. Khwajavi. Tehran: Moassese Motaleat va Tahghighate Farhangi.
———. 1360. Resalate Farsi. Edited by S. H. Nasr. Tehran: Mola.
———(Sadru-d-din as-Shirazi). 2008. Spiritual Psychology: The Fourth Intellectual Journey. Translated by L Peerwani. London: ICAS Press.
———. 1363. Tafsir Quran, sura al-A‘la. Edited by M. K. Khwajavi. Tehran: Mola.
Naraqi, Mahdi. n.d. Jamiʽ al-saʽadat. Beirut: al-A‘lami.
Pouivet, R. n.d. "Moran and Epistemic Virtues: a Thomastic and Analytical Perspective." Forum Philosophicum 15: 1-15.
Slote, M. 2001. Morals from Motives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sosa, E. 2007. Apt Belief and Reflective Knowledge, Volume 1: A Virtue Epistemology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———. 1991. Knowledge in Perspective: Selected Essays in Epistemology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———. 1980. "The Raft and the Pyramid: Coherence versus Foundations in the Theory of Knowledge." Midwest Studies in Philosophy 5: 3-25.
Tusi, N. 1373. Akhlaq Naseri. Edited by M. Minavi and A. Heidari. Tehran: Kharazmi.
———. 1964. Nasirean Ethics. Translated by G. M. Wickens. London: Allen & Unwin.
Zagzebski, L. 2004. "Epistemic Value Monism." In Sosa and His Critics, edited by Greco J. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
———. 2001. "Must Knowers be Agent?" In Virtue Epistemology: Essays on Epistemic Virtue and Responsibility, edited by A. Fairweather and L. Zagzebski , 142-157. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
———. 2000. "Précis of Virtues of the Mind." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 60 (1): 169-177.
———. 2003. "The Search for the Source of Epistemic Good." Metaphilosophy 34: 12–28.
———. 1996. Virtues of the Mind: An Inquiry into the Nature of Virtue and the Ethical Foundations of Knowledge. New York: Cambridge University Press.