Aristotle on Wisdom - Detailseite

Aristotle distinguishes, as Socrates and Plato did not, between theoretical and practical wisdom. In this seminar we'll read carefully through book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics, with the goal of better understanding why Aristotle distinguishes these two sorts of wisdom, and how he conceives of them. Special attention will be given to the following questions.  How does Aristotle's understanding of theoretical wisdom differ from Socrates and Plato's - and, for that matter, from ours? How would Aristotle criticize the classification in Plato's Statesman of the political art as theoretical rather than practical? How is practical wisdom on Aristotle's account related to contemporary moral particularism?  What exactly separates the person with practical wisdom from a clever villain? Supplementary readings will be drawn from other books of the Nicomachean Ethics, from the Metaphysics, and from the Eudemian Ethics. No knowledge of ancient Greek will be presupposed.  The seminar will be primarily in English, but participants who feel more comfortable contributing in German are very welcome.