Aristotle Test

What are the three types of wisdom?

Productive, Phronesis(practical), Contemplative

What is productive wisdom

Practical skill; an art

What is phronesis

Experience, guts, moral virtue, and capacity to deliberate well; produces something long term

Experience

The knowledge of singulars or particulars, not universals; happens very little; cant be taught

Three ways to get experience

military; new country, no money, no language; go ballroom dancing

Guts

Ability to take outrageous risks; cannot be taught

2 biggest risks in life

Marriage and career

Deliberate well

Make good decisions for years out; Is teachable

Moral virtue

The habitual mastery of the emotions; can train; the mean state between an excess and a deficiency of an emotion

Gentleness

Emotion: Anger, Deficiency: Poor spiritedness, Excess: being implacable (cannot by calmed)

Courage

(Emotion: Fear, Deficiency: Rashness, Excess: Cowardice)(Emotion: Confidence, Deficiency: Cowardice, Excess: Rashness)

Moderation

Emotion: The sensuous/The pleasure principle, Deficiency: Insensibility, Excess: Prolificacy(Excessively giving into your sensuous pleasures)

Liberality

Emotion: Giving, Deficiency: Illiberality, Excess: Prodigality(wastefulness)

Pride

Emotion: Self Regard, Deficiency: Humility, Excess: Vanity

How to hit the mean

Drag yourself to the mean of which you aren’t inclined; abstain from habitual pleasures sometimes; just do it

Contemplative Wisdom

Knowing the highest, noblest begins, namely God, soul, beauty, and sublimity to the highest degree and knowing all of it for the sake of knowing it; Wisdom proper

Energeia

An activity the purpose of which is in the activity; Contemplative Wisdom

Kinesis

An activity the purpose of which is outside the activity; Productive and practical wisdom

Soul

The principle of life in the body that is actually or potentially possessive of life and is the source of powers

Powers of the Soul

Lowest to highest: Locomotion, Nutrition, Perception, (Imagination, or Thinking)

Thinking

Most important power of the soul; Abstracts essences from matter, combines essences in judgements, syllogism: systematic combination of judgements in arguments (real thinking)

Imagination

The most powerful power of the soul; the means by which you know you are alive; Dreams, combines images, makes quick inferences habitually, (responds to stimuli)

The prerequisite for virtue

You must do the good consciously, habitually, and cheerfully

Types of friendship

Pleasure, utility, virtue

What did Aristotle believe about knowledge

We were born knowing nothing; we obtain all of our knowledge with our senses; divided lines goes from bottom up

2 subjects Aristotle and Plato would not teach until people were older

History, Government; because young people wouldn’t understand because they wouldn’t care

Eudamonia

Genuine Happiness

Suicide

Unconditionally wrong; some things are always wrong like murder

Good

That at which all things aim

Function of Man

Is an activity of the soul in accordance with reason or not independently of reason

A good man

An activity of soul in accordance with virtue or in accordance with the best and most complete virtue in a complete life

How do you achieve the highest happiness

Contemplate the reality of God

What are the qualities of the soul

Emotions, Faculties, moral states