ABSTRACT
Social intelligence, as studied by psychologists, can be loosely defi ned as the knowledge, cognitive abilities, and aff ective sensitivities, such as empathy, that enable us to navigate our social world.1 More colloquially, we can describe social intelligence as “people smarts,” and contrast it with academic intelligence, or “book smarts.” Social intelligence is that aspect of our personalities that enables us to perceive and respond to the interpersonal dynamics of situations. Since virtue is concerned with our abilities to perceive and respond to interpersonal situations, it would seem that the notion of social intelligence is of interest to virtue theory.
