ABSTRACT
The shared idea seems to be that if we think of an intellectual virtue in the way Zagzebski suggested"—as an "excellence of the mind"—then there is something one-sided about focusing only on excellences such as knowledge. This chapter focuses on one of these higher goods in particular, the good of understanding and considers the various ways in which it can be thought of as an excellence of the mind. The chapter examines both the nature of understanding considered as an epistemic goal or accomplishment and explores the distinctive powers of the mind or character traits that are needed to realize this accomplishment. There is a long tradition of thought, however, according to which understanding human beings requires a different set of powers or capacities—hence a different set of intellectual virtues—than those needed to understand the natural world.
