Elena Cagnoli Fiecconi (UCL) Phronêsis as a Persuasive Rational Excellence

I argue that Aristotle’s moral psychology is intellectualistic, in so far as phronêsis (practical wisdom) is a rational excellence which governs desire and action on the basis of its grasp of the human good. The intellectualism Aristotle defends, however, is qualified. He does not think that phronêsis governs action and desire merely by grasping the truth about the human good. Rather, he thinks that phronêsis governs action and desires by conveying the truth in a persuasive way to the non-rational part of the soul. Phronêsis achieves this goal through pleasure, attention and the capacity to produce appropriate and persuasive explanations.