What ails them? Reassessing the ethical and epistemological underpinning of Open Academia

Abstract

Both virtue epistemology and the Open Science movement have identified problems in contemporary academic practices and have proposed various solutions. In this thesis, I investigate how self-interested academics should relate to various academic reform movements, grouped together under the umbrella term Open Academia. After giving a general background on Open Academia and virtue ethics, I argue that that academics are best off by adhering to specific virtues such as honesty and integrity. It is then in their best interest to align Open Academia with those virtues. To further prove this point, empirical evidence is provided of the benefits of Open Academia for individual academics.