161 Humility as a Foundational Virtue Jennifer Cole Wright ABSTRACT: We each stand, phenomenologically speaking, at the center of the universe. This inherent “centered-ness” biases our experience of our own needs, desires, interests, beliefs, goals, and values as being more immediate and urgent than those of others’, manifesting in a natural self-orientation that—if left unchecked—can lead us to problematically privilege, prioritize, and favor ourselves. The central thesis presented here is that the interfering and distorting influences that arise from this centeredness are most effectively combated, and ultimately quieted, through the cultivation of humility. And further, that humility (as defined by Nadelhoffer & Wright, 2017) should be considered a foundational virtue, necessary for the full development and exercise of other virtues, and maturely virtuous character. KEYWORDS: humility, foundational virtue, low self-focus, high other-focus, epistemic and ethical alignment Introduction The truly ethical life is a life in which you encounter yourself as one person among others, all equally real. This means that the legitimate interests of others, insofar as you can anticipate them, will figure on a par with your own legitimate interests in your practical reasoning…For you will find yourself to be only one of the others, the one you happen to know so much about, thanks to being him or her. (Johnston, 2009, p. 89-90) The maturely virtuous person—someone who truly embodies the above quote; who is fully attuned and responsive to the needs and interests of others and who experiences them as being as