Introduction

Abstract In this introduction, we highlight the origin of the concept of practical truth in Aristotle’s ethical works. Right reasoning aims to secure truth, and knowledge marks this good’s possession. Aristotle proposes a uniquely practical conception of reasoning and knowledge, and so also a concomitant conception of practical truth. We then briefly describe the development of practical truth through antiquity and the Middle Ages, its decline in late modern and enlightenment philosophy, and its resuscitation, in the twentieth century, by G. E. M. Anscombe. In doing so, we discuss many questions that surround the concept. Despite the obstacles these questions raise, we argue that an understanding of practical truth is central to understanding basic questions about the nature and scope of practical reasoning, its role in the explanation of action, and how the explanation of action relates to what it is to live well through the exercise of practical wisdom. We conclude by surveying the volume’s sixteen essays.