Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.14
What is an "epistemic vice," and what are some examples?
A disposition that hampers good thinking, research and learning — the systematic mirror-image of an epistemic virtue.
Epistemic vices are character traits that get in the way of good epistemic conduct. Most map directly onto a virtue as its failure mode:
| Vice | The virtue it betrays |
|---|---|
| Closed-mindedness (ignoring/dismissing dissent) | open-mindedness |
| Arrogance (denying one's own fallibility) | humility |
| Cowardice / conformity (avoiding hard truths) | courage |
| Intellectual laziness / resignation (giving up early) | perseverance |
| Negligence (using evidence shallowly or selectively) | conscientiousness |
| Indifference (no drive to seek knowledge) | curiosity |
| Self-blindness / complacency (denying one's own biases) | critical self-reflection |
| Dishonesty (distorting others' positions) | fairness |
| Hypocrisy / inconsistency (high standards, not self-applied) | integrity |
| Rigidity / lack of imagination (blocking new perspectives) | creativity |
| Extreme skepticism or gullibility | epistemic temperance |
Tip: Notice the last row has two vices for one virtue — that's the "virtue as the mean" idea. Both doubting everything and believing everything are failures; the virtue lies between them.