In this dossier, we examine curiosity, in its scientific, literary and artistic forms. We also trace the key moments in its history: from being regarded in the Middle Ages as a vice and a transgression deserving of moral and religious punishment to being considered a valuable faculty in the modern age (or even, as Hobbes classified it, one of many passions) that lies at the root of the search for knowledge and the new scientific spirit. While this theme occupies no obvious place in our times – when learning and information are driven by mechanisms beyond the desire for knowledge that defines curiosity – it raises trans-historical issues about knowledge, morality and religion. In this context, it is apposite to recall that the etymology of the word ‘curiosity’ stems from the Latin curare, thus encompassing a semantic field that relates to the idea of caring. Here, then, we take a careful look at several questions which curiosity raises.