This chapter traces the genealogy of the virtue of testimonial justice back to the State of Nature. Building on Bernard Williams' account of two basic ‘virtues of truth’, namely Accuracy and Sincerity, it is argued that an original virtue of Testimonial Justice is similarly a fundamental virtue of truth. The question of the virtue's status as either an intellectual or ethical virtue is addressed. It is argued that testimonial justice is a genuine hybrid — both ethical and intellectual — for it aims at once at truth and justice.
Keywords: virtue, State of Nature, truthfulness, Accuracy, Sincerity