Abstract

ARAIZA, Jesús. La relación entre φρόνησις y σοφία, entre βίος πολιτικός y βίος θεωρητικός en Magna Moralia y en Ethica Nicomachea de Aristóteles. Nova tellus [online]. 2007, vol.25, n.2, pp.181-207. ISSN 0185-3058.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.nt.2007.25.2.233.

The relationship between φρόνησις and σοφία in Aristotle is analogous to that between a butler and the house master. The butler is stands above everyone and takes care of all the things in the house. However, he does not give orders to the master. In ruling over the other subordinates he provides leisure to his master (παρασκενάζει τῷ δεσπότῃ σχολήν, MM, I, 34, 1198b 14), so that he can dedicate himself entirely to philosophy without being bothered by any necessary thing. By analogy, prudence is sovereign in the soul, but it does not rule over wisdom. By governing the passions, prudence provides leisure to the intellect so that he can dedicate himself to contemplation. This metaphor taken from MM (I, 34, 1198b 8-20) is in accordance with a parallel analogy from EN (VI, 13, 1145a 6-11): The relation φρόνησις-σοφία is similar to the relation between medicine and health: Just as medicine is not sovereign in relation to health, neither is prudence in relation to wisdom; rather, prudence looks at how it produces <it> (όρᾷ ὃπως γἐνηται). Moreover the same productive or generative function that is characteristic of prudence is confirmed in the passage from Met., A, 1, 981b 13-25. There Aristotle describes the chronologic anteriority of necessary arts and those aimed at pleasure. Contemplative sciences come into existence once the necessary sciences have been discovered. Their discovery chronologically precedes, and contributes to the birth of contemplation (θεωρία) in the poleis.

Keywords : Aristóteles; βίος πολιτικός; βίος θεωρητικός; Ethica Nicomachea; Magna Moralia; σοφία; φρόνησις.

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