The Mismeasure of the Self: A Study in Vice Epistemology

The Mismeasure of the Self is dedicated to vices that blight many lives. They are the vices of superiority, characteristic of those who feel entitled, superior and who have an inflated opinion of themselves, and those of inferiority, typical of those who are riddled with self-doubt and feel inferior. Arrogance, narcissism, haughtiness, and vanity are among the first group. Self-abasement, fatalism, servility, and timidity exemplify the second. This book shows these traits to be to vices of self-evaluation and describes their pervasive harmful effects in some detail. Even though the influence of these traits extends to any aspect of life, the focus of this book is their damaging impact on the life of the intellect. Tanesini develops and defends a view of these vices that puts vicious motivations at their core. The analyses developed in this work build on empirical research in attitude psychology and on philosophical theories in virtue ethics and epistemology. The book concludes with a positive proposal for weakening vice and promoting virtue.

Table of Contents:
1: The Measure and Mis-measure of the Self Part I: The Philosophy and Psychology of Intellectual Vice 2: Intellectual Virtues and Vices: Sensibilities, Thinking Styles and Character Traits 3: Attitude Psychology and Virtue Epistemology: A New Framework Part II: Virtues and Vices of Intellectual self-evaluation 4: Intellectual Humility, Proper Pride and Proper Concern with Others' Esteem 5: Superbia, Arrogance, Servility and Self-Abasement 6: Vanity, Narcissism, Timidity and Fatalism Part III: Epistemic Harms and Moral Wrongs 7: Harms and Wrongs 8: Wrongs, Responsibility, Blame and Oppression 9: Teaching Intellectual Virtues, Changing Attitudes

About the Author :
Alessandra Tanesini is Professor of Philosophy at Cardiff University. She is the author of An Introduction to Feminist Epistemologies (Blackwell, 1999), Wittgenstein: A Feminist Interpretation (Polity, 2004), and of several articles in epistemology, feminist philosophy, the philosophy of mind and language, and on Nietzsche. Her current work lies at the intersection of ethics, the philosophy of language, and epistemology with a focus on epistemic vice, silencing, prejudice, and ignorance.

Review :
Tanesini has written an interesting, frighteningly relevant exploration of the virtues and vices that occupy the domain of epistemic self-evaluation, the measurement of oneself and one's capacities. Tanesini contends that those good at measuring their skills tend to achieve greater successes than those who mismeasure their capacities ... Engaging and relevant to many of today's pressing moral issues. In sum, The Mismeasure of the Self will be essential reading for anyone interested in current trends in social epistemology. This book is a model for how to do social epistemology in the 21st century: deeply empirically informed, attuned to philosophical nuance, and directly relevant to both perennial and more contemporary ethical and political problems. By eschewing austerity about the vices, and doing so in a way informed by social psychology, The Mismeasure of the Self demonstrates the potential of an empirically informed vice epistemology that recognizes the diverse forms that the human intellectual character may take. The Mismeasure of the Self: A Study in Vice Epistemology, Alessandra Tanesini offers an insightful analysis of the intellectual vices of self-evaluation and offers an invaluable contribution to the field of vice epistemology.