Aristotle on practical wisdom Michael Lacewing enquiriesalevelphilosophy co

Aristotle on practical wisdom Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy. co. uk (c) Michael Lacewing

The good • ‘What is the good for human beings? ’ – What is it that we are aiming at? – What would provide a successful, fulfilling, good life? • Eudaimonia: The good for a human life – ‘living well and faring well’: flourishing • Aristotle argues that we are distinctively rational creatures, and so eudaimonia consists in living in accordance with reason • Virtues are traits of mind or character that enable us to do this

What is practical wisdom? • Practical wisdom (phronesis) is an intellectual virtue of practical reasoning – Theoretical reason investigates what we can’t change and aims at the truth. – Practical reason investigates what we can change and aims at making good choices. – Reasoning about what we can change is deliberation, so practical reason is expressed in deliberation. (c) Michael Lacewing

What is practical wisdom? • To make good choices, not only must our reasoning be correct, but we must also have the right desires • Practical wisdom is ‘a true and reasoned state or capacity to act with regard to the things that are good or bad for man’ – It is not merely theoretical knowledge of what is good or bad, but also the capacity to act on such knowledge. (c) Michael Lacewing

Features of practical wisdom • a general conception of what is good or bad, related to the conditions for human flourishing; • the ability to perceive, in light of that general conception, what is required in terms of feeling, choice, and action in a particular situation; • the ability to deliberate well; and • the ability to act on that deliberation. (c) Michael Lacewing

Failures of deliberation • We can deliberate with the wrong end: wrong starting point leads to the wrong choice. – Our general knowledge of the good is faulty. • We don’t understand the right means to the end – If we achieve the right end, this is accidental or lucky – Either our knowledge of the particular circumstances or our reasoning is faulty. • We can fail to deliberate when we should or take too long. (c) Michael Lacewing

Contextualism • There are no rules for applying general knowledge of the good life to an individual situation – There are no true generalizations about right/wrong – So practical wisdom is a form of intuitive reason. • But ethics is not subjective; it is ‘context-sensitive’. • Practical wisdom cannot be taught, but must be acquired through experience. • As with perception, argument may not convince – you need to ‘see’ (c) Michael Lacewing

Practical wisdom and virtue • Virtues set our ends – we aim at the good life – But practical wisdom is needed to choose what is good in this situation – The virtuous person feels and chooses ‘at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way’ • Acting in accordance with virtue isn’t fully virtuous action – You must also know what you are doing and choose it for its own sake – ‘Natural’ virtue is not ‘full’ virtue (c) Michael Lacewing

Practical wisdom and virtue • Practical wisdom also depends on virtue – Good choices require the right desires – A bad man can be very clever, but does not make good choices (c) Michael Lacewing