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Phronesis

For the academic journal, seePhronesis (journal).For the band, seePhronesis (band).For the album by Monuments, seePhronesis (album).

InAncient Greek philosophy,Phronesis(Ancient Greek:φρόνησις,romanized:phrónēsis) is a type ofwisdomorintelligenceconcerned with practical action. It implies both good judgment and excellence ofcharacterand habits. Classical works about this topic are still influential today. InAristotelian ethics,the concept was distinguished from other words for wisdom and intellectualvirtues—such asepistemeandsophia—because of its practical character. The traditional Latin translation isprudentia,which is the source of the English word "prudence".

Ancient Greek philosophy

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Plato

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Platowas a teacher and friend of Aristotle. In some of his dialogues,Socratesproposes thatphronēsisis a necessary condition for all virtue.[1]Being good is to be an intelligent or reasonable person with intelligent and reasonable thoughts. Havingphronēsisallows a person to have moral or ethical strength.[2]

In Plato'sMeno,Socrates explains howphronēsis,a quality synonymous withmoral understanding,is the most important attribute to learn, although it cannot be taught and is instead gained through the development of the understanding of one's own self.[3]

Aristotle

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In the sixth book of hisNicomachean Ethics,Plato's studentAristotledistinguished between two intellectualvirtues:sophia(wisdom) andphronesis,and described the relationship between them and other intellectual virtues.[4]: VI Sophiais a combination ofnous,the ability to discern reality, andepistēmē,which is concerned with things which "could not be otherwise... e.g., the necessary truths of mathematics"[5]and is logically built up and teachable. This[ambiguous]involves reasoning concerning universal truths.Phronesisinvolves not only the ability to decide how to achieve a certain end, but also the ability to reflect upon and determine good ends consistent with the aim ofliving welloverall.[4]: VI1140a,1141b,1142b 

Aristotle points out that althoughsophiais higher and more serious thanphronesis,the highest pursuit of wisdom and happiness requires both, becausephronesisfacilitatessophia.[4]: VI.81142 He also associatesphronesiswith political ability.[4]: VI.51140b 

According to Aristotle's theory ofrhetoric,phronesisis one of the three types of appeal to character (ethos). The other two are respectively appeals toarete(virtue) andeunoia(goodwill).[6]

Gainingphronesisrequires experience, according to Aristotle who wrote that:

...although the young may be experts ingeometryandmathematicsand similar branches of knowledge [sophoi], we do not consider that a young man can have Prudence [phronimos]. The reason is that Prudence [phronesis] includes a knowledge of particular facts, and this is derived from experience, which a young man does not possess; for experience is the fruit of years.[7]

Phronesisis 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, in certain situations one might act in ways that cause pain and offense; knowing how to apply honesty in balance with other considerations and in specific contexts requires experience.[citation needed]

Aristotle holds that havingphronesisis bothnecessary and sufficientfor being virtuous: becausephronesisis practical, it is impossible to be bothphroneticandakratic;i.e., prudent persons cannot act against their "better judgement".

Modern philosophy

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Heidegger

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In light of hisfundamental ontology,Martin Heideggerinterprets Aristotle in such a way thatphronesis(andpractical philosophyas such) is the original form of knowledge and thus prior tosophia(and theoretical philosophy).[8]

Heidegger interprets theNicomachean Ethicsas an ontology of human existence. The practical philosophy of Aristotle is a guiding thread in hisBeing and Timeaccording to which "facticity" names our unique mode ofbeing-in-the-world.Through his "existential analytic", Heidegger says "Aristotelianphenomenology"suggests three fundamentalmovements of life[clarification needed]—póiesis,práxis,andtheoría—and that these have three corresponding dispositions:téchne,phrónesis,andsophía.Heidegger considers these as modalities ofBeinginherent in the structure ofDaseinas being-in-the-world that[ambiguous]is situated within the context of concern and care. According to Heideggerphronesisin Aristotle's work discloses the right and proper way toDasein.Heidegger seesphronesisas a mode of comportment in and toward the world, a way of orienting oneself and thus of caring-seeing-knowing and enabling a particular way of being concerned.

Whiletechneis a way of being concerned with things and principles of production, andtheoriaa way of being concerned with eternal principles,phronesisis a way of being concerned with one's life (qua action) and with the lives of others and all particular circumstances aspurview ofpraxis[clarification needed].Phronesisis a disposition or habit, whichreveals the being of the action[clarification needed]while deliberation is the mode of bringing about the disclosive appropriation[jargon]of that action. In other words, deliberation is the way in which the phronetic nature ofDasein’s insight[clarification needed]is made manifest.

Phronesisis a form of circumspection, connected to conscience and resolutenessrespectively being-resolved in action[clarification needed]of human existence (Dasein) aspráxis.As such it discloses the concrete possibilities of being in a situation, as the starting point of meaningful action, processed with resolution, while facing thecontingenciesof life.

Heidegger's ontologisation has been criticised asclosingpráxiswithin a horizon of solipsistic decision[clarification needed]thatdeforms its political sense that is its practico-political configuration[clarification needed].[9]

Other uses in psychology

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According to Kristjansson, Fowers, Darnell and Pollard, Phronesis is about making decisions in regards to moral events or circumstances.[10]There is recent[anachronism]work to bring back the virtue of practical judgement to overcome disagreements and conflicts in the form of Aristotle’s phronesis.[needs copy edit][11]

In Aristotle’s work,phronesisis the intellectual virtue that helps turn one’s moral instincts into practical action[4]by inculcating the practical know-how to translate virtue in thought into concrete successful action and this will producephronimosby being able to weigh up the most integral parts of various virtues and competing goals in moral situations.[needs copy edit][12]Moral virtues help any person to achieve the end,phronesis,is what it takes to figure out the right means to gain that end.[needs copy edit][4]Without moral virtues,phronesisdegenerates into an inability to make practical actions in regards to ends that are genuinegoodsfor man[13]and withoutphronesiswe may be lost in regards to exercising decisive judgment on any moral matter. The concept ofphronesisincludes thetelosthat is the "well-beingfor all in society. "[14]

The common wisdom model was developed by Grossmann, Weststrate, Ardelt,et al.[15]as explaining the foundation for making moral functioning to occur and by strategy for fitting it to the context of the situation at hand, using major scholars research on the idea that wisdom is best described as morally-grounded excellence in social-cognitive processing, by empirical wisdom scientists.[needs copy edit]Moral grounding is what the researchers found that the following is the moral basis:[needs copy edit]"balance of self-interests and other interests, pursuit of truth (as opposed to dishonesty), and orientation toward shared humanity". Secondly this[ambiguous]means excellence in social cognitive processing: "context adaptability (e.g. practical or pragmatic reasoning, optimization of behavior towards achieving certain outcomes), perspectivism (e.g. considering diverse perspectives, foresight and long-term thinking), dialectical and reflective thinking (e.g. balancing and integrating points of view, entertaining opposites), and epistemic modesty (e.g. unbiased/accurate thinking, looking through illusions, understanding your own limitations)."

In the social sciences

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InAfter Virtue,Alasdair MacIntyrecalled for a phronetic social science. He points out that for every prediction made by asocial scientifictheory there are usuallycounter-examples.Hence theunpredictabilityof human beings and human life requires a focus on practical experiences.

In his bookCognitive Capitalism,the psychologist Heiner Rindermann uses the termphronesisto describe a rational approach of thinking and acting: "a circumspect and thoughtful way of life in a rational manner".[16]Intelligence supports such a "burgher" lifestyle.[further explanation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^
    • Guthrie, W. K. C. (1990).A History of Greek Philosophy.Vol. 6: Aristotle, an Encounter (revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.348.ISBN0521387604.
    • Engberg-Pedersen, Troels (1983) [1983].Aristotle's Theory of Moral Insight.Oxford University Press. p.236.ISBN0198246676.
  2. ^Long, Christopher P. (2004).The Ethics of Ontology: Rethinking an Aristotelian Legacy.State University of New York Press. p.123).ISBN079146119X.
  3. ^Gallagher, Shaun (1992). "Self-understanding and phronēsis".Hermeneutics and Education.State University of New York Press. pp.197–199.ISBN0791411753.
  4. ^abcdefAristotle.Nicomachean Ethics.
  5. ^Parry, Richard (2021),"Episteme and Techne",in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.),The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(Winter 2021 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University,retrieved2021-11-28
  6. ^Aristotle.Rhetoric.1378a.
  7. ^Aristotle.The Nicomachean Ethics.The Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H.VI.8¶5 1142.
  8. ^Figal, Günter (2003).Martin Heidegger zur Einführung(in German). Hamburg. p. 58.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^Volpi, Franco (2007). "In Whose Name?: Heidegger and 'Practical Philosophy'".European Journal of Political Theory.6(1): 31–51.doi:10.1177/1474885107070828.S2CID144896866.
  10. ^Kristjánsso, Kristján; Fowers, Blaine; Darnell, Catherine; Pollard, David (2021)."Phronesis (Practical Wisdom) as a Type of Contextual Integrative Thinking".Review of General Psychology.25(3): 239–257.doi:10.1177/10892680211023063.S2CID237456851.
  11. ^Beresford, E.B. (1996)."Can phronesis save the life of medical ethics?".Theoretical Medicine.17(3): 209–24.doi:10.1007/BF00489446.PMID8952418.S2CID39100551.Retrieved5 October2022.
  12. ^Kristjansson, Kristján (2015)."Phronesis as an ideal in professional medical ethics: some preliminary positionings and problematics".Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics.36(5): 299–320.doi:10.1007/s11017-015-9338-4.PMID26387119.S2CID254786871.Retrieved5 October2022.
  13. ^MacIntyre, Alasdair (1981).After Virtue(2nd revised ed.). US: Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. p. 154.ISBN978-0268006112.
  14. ^Conroy, Mervyn; Malik, Aisha Y.; Hale, Catherine; Weir, Catherine; Brockie, Alan; Turner, Chris (2021)."Using practical wisdom to facilitate ethical decision-making: a major empirical study of phronesis in the decision narratives of doctors".BMC Medical Ethics.22(16): 16.doi:10.1186/s12910-021-00581-y.PMC7890840.PMID33602193.
  15. ^Grossmann, Igor; Weststrate, Nic M.; Ardelt, Monika; Brienza, Justin; Dong, Mengxi; Ferrari, Michel; Fournier, Marc A.; Hu, Chao S.; Nusbaum, Howard; Vervaeke, John (2020)."The Science of Wisdom in a Polarized World: Knowns and Unknowns".Psychological Inquiry.31(2): 64.doi:10.1080/1047840X.2020.1750917.S2CID221055201.Retrieved28 October2022.
  16. ^Rindermann, Heiner (2018).Cognitive Capitalism: Human Capital and the Wellbeing of Nations(1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 188.doi:10.1017/9781107279339.ISBN978-1107279339.

Sources and further reading

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  • The dictionary definition ofphronesisat Wiktionary
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