ABSTRACT
It is uncontroversial that open-mindedness is an admirable and rather rare quality in human beings. Being open-minded is popularly associated with many other positive qualities like curiosity, fairness, and thoughtfulness. But to stay focused on the topic at hand, which is open-mindedness as an intellectual virtue, we must set aside most questions regarding the definition of "intellectual virtue." Open-mindedness is an intellectual character virtue, involving characteristic motivations, including that of increasing or improving one's cognitive contact with reality. Hence, open-mindedness can be attributable in cases where there is no current doxastic commitment, and hence no doxastic conflict. Someone who possesses the virtue of open-mindedness could still slip up sometimes and be motivated by a desire to be admired, say, and could therefore engage in what appear to be an open-minded way. Open-mindedness requires us to be habitually motivated by our love of cognitive contact with reality to engage in whatever cognitive activities further constitute the virtue.
