Intellectual Pride

Several unrelated factors have conspired to make intellectual humility a hot topic – or at least to make ‘intellectual humility’ a buzzword – in contemporary epistemology. First, testimony is a hot topic in contemporary epistemology, and there is something natural-sounding about the idea that deferring to the testimony of another person is a manifestation of humility. Second, the John Templeton Foundation has been generous in its support for research on intellectual humility (or at least for research that is articulated by using the expression ‘intellectual humility’), with the result that research on intellectual humility is relatively well-funded by contrast with research on many other epistemological topics (e.g., intellectual autonomy). Third, we are at present regularly exposed by our media to vulgar and offensive instances of intellectual arrogance and immodesty – politicians and celebrities are the usual suspects – and it sounds natural to say that humility is an antidote to these vices. Given these three factors, it is understandable why contemporary epistemologists are interested in intellectual humility.