Explaining Improvised Expertise

In “Epistemic Hubris” (2024), Francesca Pongiglione identifies a phenomenon of improvising expertise, posits an explanation for it (epistemic hubris), and argues that epistemic hubris is i) distinct from other intellectual vices discussed in the literature; and, ii) better explains the phenomenon at hand. In this reply I raise some concerns for Pongiglione’s argument. In particular, I argue that thinking more closely about the intellectual virtues of intellectual humility and epistemic autonomy can provide the desired explanation, and that this explanation has several advantages over Pongigilone’s account