Acquaintance Is Morally Significant

Abstract This chapter addresses a very old question: Is there a special connection between a person’s moral character and their epistemic character—between how good they are and what they are in a position to know? Focusing specifically on knowledge by acquaintance, the author argues that one’s moral character affects what one is acquainted with and vice versa, so they are indeed interdependent in some very important ways. He argues that one’s moral character affects what one is acquainted with because it affects both what one attends to and how one attends to it. He argues that what one is acquainted with affects one’s moral character because it affects the extent and manner in which one knows and appreciates the moral significance of certain things, and because it motivates one in a unique way to do morally good things. In these ways, acquaintance has unique moral significance.