Some epistemic virtues have been identified by W. Jay Wood, based on research into the medieval tradition.
[3] Virtues in general are characteristic habits or ways of relating to the world that exhibit or promote human flourishing.
[4] Epistemic virtues are those characteristic habits that promote the acquisition of and utilization of true knowledge.
There is potential tension between these two concepts because learning the truth can sometimes make a person worse off,[1] and so remaining ignorant can arguably be the better option.
Being an epistemically virtuous person is often equated with being a critical thinker and focuses on the human agent and the kind of practices that make it possible to arrive at the best accessible approximation of the truth.