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Practical wisdom (Greek phronesis; sometimes translated ‘prudence’), says Aristotle, is ‘a reasoned  capacity to act with regard to the things that are good or bad for man’ (Nicomachean Ethics VI.5). So while practical wisdom involves knowledge of what is good or bad, it is not merely theoretical knowledge, but a capacity to act on such knowledge as well.

This capacity (phronesis) requires:

1. a general conception of what is good or bad, which Aristotle relates to the conditions for human flourishing;

2. the ability to perceive, in light of that general conception, what is required in terms of feeling, choice, and action in a particular situation;

3. the ability to deliberate well or think things through clearly; and

4. the ability to act on that deliberation.

Aristotle’s theory makes practical wisdom very demanding. The type of insight into the good that is needed and the relation between practical wisdom and virtues of character are both complex. Practical wisdom cannot be taught, but requires experience of life and virtue. Only the person who is good knows what is good, according to Aristotle.

Insight and Making Decisions

Aristotle argues that practical wisdom involves more than one kind of insight. First, there is insight into ‘what is good or bad for man’, namely insight into human flourishing (eudaimonia). Second, practical wisdom involves understanding what is required in a particular situation in light of a general understanding of what is good.

The question that faces us on any occasion is how to achieve what is good – part of a good life now, in this situation. But there are no rules for applying knowledge of the good life to the current situation. What is right on a particular occasion is in accordance with ‘right reason’ (orthos logos), but this can vary from one occasion to another.

Furthermore, this kind of insight is inseparable from making a good decision: we must not only understand the situation (which can involve considerable sensitivity), but also how to act well in it. This makes it impossible to make true generalisations – ones that will hold in all cases – about right and wrong, good and bad. Our reasoning on ‘variable’ matters, our deliberation, is a form of intuitive reason. Practical wisdom ‘grasps’ the particular facts involved in the case.

This does not make ethics subjective, as there is a truth of the matter to be discovered. However, proving the truth of one view against another is not possible by argument alone. If you are blind, I may not be able to convince you of the colour of moonlight; if you lack insight into what is good, I may not be able to convince you of the goodness of being kind. And so, Aristotle argues, ethical understanding is not something that can be taught, for what can be taught is general, not particular. Rules and principles will rarely apply in any clear way to real situations. Instead, moral knowledge is only acquired through experience.

A third kind of insight relates to what is a virtue. In one way, this is like insight into human flourishing, since it involves knowing which character traits are necessary for a good life; on the other, it is like insight into the particular situation, since it involves knowing how to respond emotionally here and now. If we feel emotions and desires, and make decisions, ‘well’, i.e. virtuously, we feel and choose ‘at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards the right people, with the right motive, and in the right way’.