ANDRESSA NOGUEIRA DA SILVA AMARAL

This research aims to promote a study of Aristotle's conception of practical wisdom in book VI of Ethica Nicomachea, and to highlight its relevance to Aristotle's moral doctrine. Thus, Aristotle's theses and critical fortune on the issue will be studied. Aristotle defines happiness (εὐδαιμονία), the purpose of human life, as the activity of the soul based on virtue; thus he studies moral virtue, the disposition that leads to deliberate choices. However, choosing by deliberation consists in determining the middle term in a given situation, the task of the prudent. For this reason, he analyzes, in book VI, practical wisdom (φρόνησις), an intellectual virtue that operates within the moral virtues. As we study the nature of practical wisdom, we find relevant idiosyncrasies, such as its relationship with: i) good deliberation (εὐβουλία) and deliberate choice (προαίρεσις); ii) the virtue of temperance (σωφροσύνη); iii) judgment (γνώμη); and iv) the opportune time (καιρός). Also relevant is the disparity between practical wisdom (φρόνησις) and wisdom (σοφία). In light of this, the study of practical wisdom proves crucial to a coherent study of Aristotle's ethics.