Knowledge transfer, not just true beliefs: virtue epistemology as a philosophical basis for education

Introduction. Modern pedagogical practice is being reformed due to systemic changes in the ways of social interaction. Knowledge transfer is being significantly modified under the influence of technical innovations, although it remains traditionally one of the main tasks of the educational process. The development of artificial intelligence, neural networks and other analytical computer systems shows that propositional knowledge is not the privilege of the human mind. This state of affairs changes the idea of knowledge as such. In this regard, the participants of the educational process face the task of revising the philosophical basis of modern learning in terms of finding a new definition of knowledge. It is also necessary to develop new methodological recommendations that would correspond to modern epistemological theories of knowledge, belief and understanding. Materials and research methods. The article uses the methods of conceptual analysis and comparative study characteristic of philosophy. The research materials are sources on theory of knowledge, education and also on applied epistemology. Results. Virtue epistemology is one of the most actively developing theories of knowledge in contemporary philosophy and humanities. It is based on the idea that knowledge cannot be an accidental belief, but must be the merit of a cognitive agent. This approach solves many problems of the philosophical theory of knowledge and creates a subjectoriented view of the nature of the cognitive process. This attitude allows us to use virtue epistemology in debates about applied issues, including those related to the explanation of the tasks and content of education. Discussion. A feature of the analysis within virtue epistemology is attention to cognitive skills (reliabilism) and sustained intellectual dispositions (responsibilism) in their relationship to the process of formation of true beliefs. Virtue epistemology defines knowledge through the notion of merit in the manifestation of subjective qualities, so the student's motivation and the context of belief formation should be taken into account when developing specific methodological recommendations. Such an approach explains why standardized testing cannot serve as the sole and primary means of assessing learners. At the same time, the general semantic peculiarity of the notions of virtue allows us to appeal to examples of individuals as ideal types of certain qualities (this is called exemplarism). At the same time, it is necessary to explain why these traits are the excellences that make their bearer better in epistemic terms. Conclusion. In explaining the knowledge transfer, pedagogy can be based on the philosophical principles of virtue epistemology. Such integration enriches both disciplines: pedagogy gets a conceptual scheme adequate to the modern social and technological situation, and epistemology gets a practical application.