Inquiry beyond Curiosity: Interest and the Value of Attending
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: I argue that our intrinsic epistemic motivation extends beyond curiosity to include interest—a distinct affect through which we evaluate objects as worthy of exploration through sustained attention. While an agent’s curiosity is directed at certain questions or specific unknowns, and aims at acquiring the relevant knowledge through goal-directed inquiry, an agent’s interest is an attitude about objects and facts which she aims to get acquainted with through sustained attention. Drawing on valuationist theories of cognition, I argue that interest serves as the phenomenological manifestation of our appraisal of stimuli as worthy of attention, playing a crucial role in proper epistemic attunement, and explaining some forms of improper attunement. While fitting curiosity might support virtuous inquiry, fitting interest might support virtuous attending.
Source: The Philosophical Quarterly
DOI: 10.1093/pq/pqag014
Author: Juliette Vazard
Institution: University of Zurich
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,204
OpenAlex ID: W7147418585