If you think that Josey Wales (M9a), the Good (M9b), and the water-buffalo # 2013 (M9d) were practically wise (in their thinking and action), then, make your interpretive claim, provide your arguments to validate your interpretive thesis, and offer proofs

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The  Aristotelian  Conception  of  Wisdom     A_  THE  BACKGROUND    

1. The  Philosopher   a. Aristotle  (384-­‐322  BCE)  

  2. The  Work  

a. The  Nichomachean  Ethics    

3. The  Subject  Matter   a. Wisdom  

  B_  THE  ARISTOTELIAN  CONCEPTION  OF  WISDOM    

1. Faculties  of  the  Human  Soul    

a. “Since  pure  science  or  scientific  knowledge  is  a  basic  conviction   concerning  universal  and  necessary  truths,  and  since  everything   demonstrable  and  all  pure  science  begins  from  fundamental   principles  (for  science  proceeds  rationally),  the  fundamental  principle   or  starting  point  for  scientific  knowledge  cannot  itself  be  the  object   either  of  science,  or  art,  or  of  practical  wisdom.”  NE  

b. “Now,  if  scientific  knowledge,  practical  wisdom,  theoretical  wisdom,   and  intelligence  are  the  faculties  by  which  we  attain  truth  and  by   which  we  are  never  deceived  both  in  matters  which  can  and  in  those   matters  which  cannot  be  other  than  they  are;  and  if  three  of  these  –  I   am  referring  to  practical  wisdom,  scientific  knowledge,  and   theoretical  wisdom  –  cannot  be  the  faculty  in  question,  we  are  left   with  the  conclusion  that  it  is  intelligence  that  apprehends   fundamental  principles.”    

2. The  Definition  of  Wisdom    

a. W.  D.  Ross’s  Translation   Therefore  wisdom  must  plainly  be  the  most  finished  of  the  forms  of   knowledge.  It  follows  that  the  wise  man  must  not  only  know  what   follows  from  the  first  principles,  but  must  also  possess  truth  about  the   first  principles.      

b. Martin  Ostwald’s  Translation   It  is,  therefore,  clear,  that  wisdom  must  be  the  most  precise  and   perfect  form  of  knowledge.  Consequently,  a  wise  man  must  not  only   know  what  follows  from  fundamental  principles,  but  he  must  also   have  true  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  principles  themselves.      

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3. Two  Kinds  of  Wisdom    

a. Practical  Wisdom  (PW)   b. Theoretical  Wisdom  (TW)  

  4. Theoretical  Wisdom  

a. “Accordingly,  theoretical  wisdom  must  comprise  both  intelligence  and   scientific  knowledge.  It  is  science  in  its  consummation,  as  it  were,  the   science  of  the  things  that  are  valued  most  highly.”  NE  VI.7  

b. “Our  discussion  has  shown  that  theoretical  wisdom  comprises  both   scientific  knowledge  and  [apprehension  by  the]  intelligence  of  things   which  by  their  nature  are  valued  most  highly.  That  is  why  it  is  said   that  men  like  Anaxagoras  and  Thales  have  theoretical  wisdom  but  not   practical  wisdom:  when  we  see  that  they  do  not  know  what  is   advantageous  to  them,  we  admit  that  they  know  extraordinary,   wonderful,  difficult,  and  superhuman  things,  but  call  their  knowledge   useless  because  the  good  they  are  seeking  is  not  human.”  NE  VI.7    

5. Practical  Wisdom     a. “We  may  approach  the  subject  of  practical  wisdom  by  studying  the  

persons  to  whom  we  attribute  it.  Now,  the  capacity  of  deliberating   well  about  what  is  good  and  advantageous  for  oneself  is  regarded  as   typical  of  a  man  of  practical  wisdom  –  not  deliberating  well  about   what  is  good  and  advantageous  in  a  particular  sense,  for  example,   what  contributes  to  health  or  strength,  but  what  sort  of  thing   contributes  to  the  good  life  in  general.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that   we  speak  of  men  as  having  practical  wisdom  in  a  particular  respect,   i.e.,  not  in  an  unqualified  sense,  when  they  calculate  well  with  respect   to  some  worthwhile  end,  one  that  cannot  be  attained  by  an  applied   science  or  art.  It  follows  that,  in  general,  a  man  of  practical  wisdom  is   he  who  has  the  ability  to  deliberate.”  NE  VI.5    

b. “What  remains,  then,  is  that  it  is  a  truthful  characteristic  of  acting   rationally  in  matters  good  and  bad  for  man.  For  production  has  an  end   other  than  itself,  but  action  does  not:  good  action  is  itself  an  end.  That   is  why  we  think  that  Pericles  and  men  like  him  have  practical  wisdom.   They  have  the  capacity  of  seeing  what  is  good  for  themselves  and  for   mankind,  and  these  are,  we  believe,  the  qualities  of  men  capable  of   managing  households  and  states.”  NE  VI.5  

c. “Practical  wisdom,  on  the  other  hand,  is  concerned  with  human  affairs   and  with  matters  about  which  deliberation  is  possible.  As  we  have   said,  the  most  characteristic  function  of  a  man  of  practical  wisdom  is   to  deliberate  well:  no  one  deliberates  about  things  that  cannot  be   other  than  they  are,  nor  about  things  that  are  not  directed  to  some   end,  an  end  that  is  a  good  attainable  by  action.  In  an  unqualified  sense,   that  man  is  good  at  deliberating  who,  by  reasoning,  can  aim  at  and  hit   the  best  thing  attainable  to  man  by  action.”  NE  VI.7  

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d. “Nor  does  practical  wisdom  deal  only  with  universals.  It  must  also  be   familiar  with  particulars,  since  it  is  concerned  with  action  and  action   has  to  do  with  particulars.  This  explains  why  some  men  who  have  no   scientific  knowledge  are  more  adept  in  practical  matters,  especially  if   they  have  experience,  than  those  who  do  have  scientific  knowledge.  If   a  person  were  to  know  that  light  meat  is  easily  digested,  and  hence   wholesome,  but  did  not  know  what  sort  of  meat  is  light,  he  will  not   produce  health,  whereas  someone  who  knows  that  poultry  is  light  and   wholesome  is  more  like  to  produce  health.”  NE  VI.7  

e. “Now,  practical  wisdom  is  concerned  with  action.  That  means  that  a   person  should  have  both  [knowledge  of  universals  and  knowledge  of   particulars]  or  knowledge  of  particulars  rather  [than  knowledge  of   universals].  But  here,  too,  it  seems,  there  is  a  supreme  and   comprehensive  science  involved  [i.e.,  politics].”  NE  VI.7  

  6. Theoretical  Wisdom  <>  Practical  Wisdom  

  “Theoretical  wisdom  [as  we  have  described  it]  will  study  none  of  the  things   that  make  a  man  happy,  for  it  is  not  at  all  concerned  with  the  sphere  of   coming-­‐to-­‐be  [but  only  with  unchanging  realities].  Practical  wisdom,  on  the   other  hand,  is  concerned  with  this  sphere,  but  for  what  purpose  do  we  need   it?  It  is  true  that  practical  wisdom  deals  with  what  is  just,  noble,  and  good  for   man;  and  it  is  doing  such  things  that  characterize  a  man  as  good.”  NE  VI.13      

7. Other  Virtues  (the  icon  “<>”  means  “and”  +  “in  opposition  to”)    

a. PW  is  not  “intelligence”  (but  related  to  PW.)  NE  VI.6   b. PW  is  not  “understanding”  (but  related  to  PW.)  NE  VI.10   c. PW  is  not  “good  sense”  (but  related  to  PW.)  NE  VI.11   d. PW  is  not  “cleverness”  (but  related  to  PW.)  NE  VI.13    

  C_  CRITICAL  RESPONSES    

1. A  Re-­‐Classification  of  Wisdom    

a. Theoretical  Wisdom   i. Scientific  Wisdom   ii. Philosophical  Wisdom  

  b. Practical  Wisdom  

i. Political  Wisdom   ii. Military  Wisdom   iii. Business  Wisdom   iv. Existential  Wisdom  

  2. Practical  Wisdom<>Intelligence  Relationship  

a. Intelligence  can  offer  the  mind  all  the  options  for  its  deliberation.   b. PW  can  help  the  mind  to  choose  the  right  end-­‐means  option.