Phronesis (Greek: φρόνησις) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is the virtue of moral thought, usually translated "practical wisdom", sometimes as "prudence". The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Prudence (latprudentia is classically considered to be a Virtue, and indeed one of the Cardinal Virtues.
Aristotle distinguishes between two intellectual virtues: sophia and phronesis. Virtue ( Latin virtus; Greek) is moral Excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual Sophia (usually translated "wisdom") is the ability to think well about the nature of the world, to discern why the world is the way it is (this is sometimes equated with science); sophia involves deliberation concerning universal truths. Wisdom is a concept of personal gaining of Knowledge, Understanding, Experience, discretion and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Phronesis is the capability to consider the mode of action in order to deliver change, especially to enhance the quality of life. Aristotle says that phronesis is not simply a skill, however, as it involves not only the ability to decide how to achieve a certain end, but also the ability to reflect upon and determine that end (this latter point is denied by some commentators, who contend that Aristotle considers the desired end, eudaimonia, to be given, such that phronesis is merely the ability to achieve that end). Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness '
Gaining phronesis requires maturation, in Aristotle's thought:
| “ | Whereas young people become accomplished in geometry and mathematics, and wise within these limits, prudent young people do not seem to be found. The reason is that prudence is concerned with particulars as well as universals, and particulars become known from experience, but a young person lacks experience, since some length of time is needed to produce it (Nichomachean Ethics 1142 a). | ” |
Phronesis is concerned with particulars, because it is concerned with how to act in particular situations. One can learn the principles of action, but applying them in the real world, in situations one could not have foreseen, requires experience of the world. For example, if one knows that one should be honest, one might act in certain situations in ways that cause pain and offense; knowing how to apply honesty in balance with other considerations and in specific contexts requires experience.
Aristotle holds that having phronesis is both necessary and sufficient for being virtuous; because phronesis is practical, it is impossible to be both phronimos and akratic. Akrasia ( ancient Greek, "lacking command (over oneself" occasionally transliterated as acrasia, is the state of acting against one's better judgment
Aristotle's importance to mediæval European thought led phronesis to be included as one of the four cardinal virtues. Virtue ( Latin virtus; Greek) is moral Excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual
Bent Flyvbjerg, in his book Making Social Science Matter, has argued that instead of trying to emulate the natural sciences, the social sciences should be practiced as phronesis. Bent Flyvbjerg (born in Denmark December 10 1952 is an urban geographer and planner who has written extensively about Megaprojects, Power and Rationality Making Social Science Matter Why social inquiry fails and how it can succeed again ISBN 052177568X is a book written in 2001 ( Cambridge University Press) by a Danish planning Phronetic social science [1] focuses on four value-rational questions: (1) Where are we going? (2) Who gains and who loses, by which mechanisms of power? (3) Is this development desirable? (4) What should we do about it?
In After Virtue Alasdair MacIntyre makes a similar call for a phronetic social science, combined with weighty criticism of attempts by social scientists to emulate natural science. Phronetic social science is an approach to the study of social – including political and economic – phenomena based on a contemporary interpretation of the classical Greek concept Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (born January 12, 1929 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral He points out that for every prediction made by a social scientific theory there are usually counter-examples. In Logic, and especially in its applications to Mathematics and Philosophy, a counterexample is an exception to a proposed general rule i These derive from the unpredictability of human beings, and the fact that one unpredictable human being can have a world-changing impact. Predictability (also called banality) refers to the degree that a correct Prediction or Forecast of a System 's state can be made either Following Pascal, he points out that the shape of Cleopatra's nose changed the course of history, for if her profile had not been classically beautiful it is unlikely that Mark Anthony would have pursued her, with significant consequences for Roman political history. Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC &ndash 30 BC was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt Mark Anthony may refer to Mark Antony ( Marcus Antonius) - statesman in Ancient Rome Marc Anthony - singer/songwriter and husband The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial
Sources and further reading
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, dual text, with translation by H. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Rackham (Harvard University Press, 1934) ISBN 0-674-99081-1 [2]
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics trans. Terence Irwin (2nd edition; Hackett, 1999) ISBN 0-87220-464-2
- Robert Bernasconi, “Heidegger’s Destruction of Phronesis,” Southern Journal of Philosophy 28 supp. Terence Irwin (born 21 April 1947 in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland) is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics Robert L Bernasconi (born 1950 is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. (1989): 127–47.
- Flyvbjerg, Bent, Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
- Clifford Geertz, "Empowering Aristotle. " Science, vol. 293, July 6, 2001, p. 53. [3]
- Martin Heidegger, Plato's Sophist (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997). Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher
- Gerard J. Hughes, Aristotle on Ethics (Routledge, 2001) ISBN 0-415-22187-0
- Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (Duckworth, 1985)ISBN 0-7156-1663-3
- William McNeill, The Glance of the Eye: Heidegger, Aristotle, and the Ends of Theory (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999). Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (born January 12, 1929 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral William McNeill (born 1961 is Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University.
- Amélie Oksenberg Rorty [ed. ], Essays on Aristotle's Ethics (University of California Press, 1980) ISBN 0-520-04041-4
- Richard Sorabji, "Aristotle on the Role of Intellect in Virtue" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 74, 1973–1974; pp 107–129. The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy (more generally known as the Aristotelian Society) was founded at a meeting on 19 April Reprinted in Rorty)
- David Wiggins, "Deliberation and Practical Reason" (Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 76, 1975–1976; pp 29–51. David Wiggins (born 8 March 1933) is a British moral Philosopher, metaphysician, and philosophical Logician Reprinted in Rorty)
See also
External links
Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Phronetic social science is an approach to the study of social – including political and economic – phenomena based on a contemporary interpretation of the classical Greek concept "Rhetorical reason" may be defined as the faculty of discovering the crux of the matter endemic to rhetorical invention that precedes argumentation Casuistry (ˈkæʒuːɨstri is an Applied ethics term referring to case-based Reasoning.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic