Philosophy of Curiosity

Types

Perceptual curiosity (innate exploratory behavior in all animals) and epistemic curiosity (desire for knowledge, attributed to humans).

Definition

A desire to know, a need, thirst, or desire for knowledge.

Virtue Status

Recognized as an important intellectual (epistemic) virtue and an important moral virtue, helping humans find meaning and cultivate care.

Role in Progress

Motivates people to acquire knowledge and understanding, leading to scientific, philosophical, artistic, and technological developments.

Musk's Application

Drives ambition to make humanity a multi-planetary species and establish a self-sustaining city on Mars.

Philosophical Roots

Discussed by ancient Greek philosophers (e.g., Aristotle, in relation to wonder), Cicero (passion for learning), Hume (love of truth).

2021-05-28

2020

2001

Curiosity has been of interest to philosophers. Curiosity has been recognised as an important intellectual (or "epistemic") virtue, due to the role that it plays in motivating people to acquire knowledge and understanding. It has also been considered an important moral virtue, as curiosity can help humans find meaning in their lives and to cultivate a sense of care about others and things in the world. When curiosity in young people leads to knowledge-gathering it is widely seen as a positive. [...] Traditional ideas of curiosity have expanded to consider the difference between perceptual curiosity, as the innate exploratory behavior that is present in all animals, and epistemic curiosity, as the desire for knowledge that is specifically attributed to humans. [...] 35. ^ Ross L (2020). "The Virtue of Curiosity". Episteme. 17 (1): 105–120. doi "Doi (identifier)"):10.1017/epi.2018.31. S2CID "S2CID (identifier)") 171473863. 36. ^ Baumgartner E (2001). "Curiosity as a Moral Virtue". International Journal of Applied Philosophy. 15 (2): 169–184. doi "Doi (identifier)"):10.5840/ijap200115215. 37. ^ Cohen R (2013). The Development of Spatial Cognition. Psychology Press. p. 99. ISBN "ISBN (identifier)") 9781134926664.

taken curiosity as a topic that was worthy of philosophical investigation. I have been giving seminars on the topic ever since, and each time I collected a bit more literature, but mostly they were at best indirectly related to the issues on curiosity that I discussed in those seminars. This is how I first decided to write a book on the topic. There are various philosophical questions on curiosity that I believe are philosophically interesting. Some involve ethics, some involve metaphysics, [...] This is very much in the spirit of Aristotle; curiosity is the desire to come to know the inner causes of things, the first principles and causes of Being that allows us to learn how and why things are as they are. Hume, too, places curiosity at a very prestigious location within our passions. Here is what he says in his Treatise in the last section of the Passions, entitled “Curiosity or the Love of Truth”: But methinks we have been not a little inattentive to run over so many different parts [...] which emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century. A thorough study of curiosity cannot be achieved only within philosophy of course; it should require the collaboration of many disciplines, not just cognitive and evolutionary psychology, but neuro-science, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and biology as well. These are the typical areas that Cognitive Science brings together, and it is where we should expect such an inter-disciplinary study on curiosity to take place. 17

Among ancient Greek philosophers, curiosity was often mentioned in relation to wonder. In _Metaphysics_, Aristotle states that "philosophy begins in wonder." For some of them, wonder was about seeking answers, while for others, it was about experiencing awe. ‍ [...] By contrast, Elias Baumgarten, from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, argues that curiosity is a virtue and that it’s closely linked with care and concern because it helps people gain the kind of knowledge needed for caring about things in the world. This in turn, helps to overcome indifference which often leads to more meaningful lives. ‍ [...] No previous entries This is the final entry Image 4 Image 5 Image 6 This is some text inside of a div block. Published: May 28, 2021 Estimated read time: # minutes What is the role of curiosity in our work and life? ‍ Curiosity can simply be described as the desire to know. And most of us would agree that the fact that we even have the sciences, philosophy, the arts and technological developments is due to humanity’s innate curiosity and search for greater knowledge. ‍

The earliest discussions of curiosity were conducted by philosophers and religious thinkers and centered on the question of curiosity's moral status rather then on its psychological underpinnings. Cicero referred to curiosity as a "passion for learning" and argued that the story of Ulysses and the Sirens was really a parable about curiosity. Several forms of curiosity related behavior such as search behavior, movement toward an unknown object and asking questions are included in the area of [...] Curiosity is defined as a need, thirst or desire for knowledge. The concept of curiosity is central to motivation. The term can be used as both a description of a specific behavior as well as a hypothetical construct to explain the same behavior. Berlyne (1960) believes that curiosity is a motivational prerequisite for exploratory behavior. The term curiosity is used both as a description of a specific behavior as well as a hypothetical [...] In the psychoanalytical literature Freud views curiosity as a derivative of the sex drive. The partial impulse of looking motivates the child's great interest in all things and all events that have to do with sexuality. Whereas the looking impulse and curiosity are primarily sexual in origin, the child's exploratory interest and desire for knowledge can be considered to be a by product of cognitive development. Due to social pressure, sexual exploration is later abandoned.